Additional Commitment to Fund Investing in Startups in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)
Strengthening International Competitiveness of Japanese Companies Through Investments in CEE, “Next Innovation Hub of Europe”

• Region: Europe
• Others
• Equity Investment

1. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC; Governor: HAYASHI Nobumitsu) signed on January 30 an agreement for equity investment in ff Red & White (the Fund) of Luxembourg. JBIC committed to investing EUR2 million in the Fund in addition to the commitment it made in 2023.
     
2. The Fund is a venture capital fund that invests in startups that will contribute toward technologies for automation, remote operation, labor-saving, etc. in CEE^*1. The Fund is jointly established and managed by JBIC IG Partners, which is a joint venture between JBIC and IGPI Group, Inc., and ff Venture Capital, which has a proven investment track record in the United States and Poland. JBIC has already committed to investing EUR16 million in the Fund^*2, and with this additional commitment, the total amount of JBIC’s commitment is EUR18 million. JBIC and the following Japanese companies committed to investing in the Fund.
    

   Sojitz Corporation	JGC HOLDINGS CORPORATION
   DMG MORI CO., LTD.	KDDI CORPORATION
   SBI Holdings, Inc.*3	DeNA Co., Ltd.*
   * A Japanese company that committed to investing in the Fund in 2025

3. CEE has a large number of highly skilled software engineers who graduated from local universities or academic institutions with expertise in mathematics and computer science. As a result, many leading European and American tech companies have established their R&D centers there. Additionally, an increasing number of engineers from these tech companies are starting their own businesses. Furthermore, Germany, one of the world's leading manufacturing nations, has fostered the development of industrial automation technologies in this region. This background has led to numerous promising startups that contribute to Digital Transformation (DX), such as automation, remote operation, and labor-saving. The innovations from these startups are applied across various business areas, including industry, logistics, finance, and healthcare.
     
4. The Fund aims to support Japanese strategic investors to achieve DX by promoting business partnerships and capital alliances between startups in CEE and Japanese companies, and collaborations between these entities have already been realized. The additional commitment of JBIC, which intends to further accelerate the activities of the Fund, is expected to contribute toward maintaining and improving the international competitiveness of Japanese companies.
     
5. As Japan’s policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to provide financial support for the maintenance and improvement of the international competitiveness of Japanese industry by drawing on its various financial facilities and schemes for structuring projects, including its equity investment function, and by performing its risk-assuming function.
     

Note

1. *1 
   CEE comprises seven countries: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Germany, and Austria.
2. *2 
   See press release on May 31, 2023.
3. *3 
   SBI Holdings, Inc. commits to the Fund through its subsidiary.