INTERVIEW: Romania’s SeedBlink to speed up European expansion in 2023

"Next year is about accelerating European expansion, launching the first early-stage funds as offerings, implementing the strategy to attract larger investors and scale-ups and expanding into new markets with a local presence. The strong network effect is driven by the technology and ecosystem we are building to offer opportunities for collaboration between founders and investors, private and institutional," Ghenciu told SeeNews in an e-mailed recent interview.

In August, SeedBlink acquired the Netherlands-based investment crowdfunding platform Symbid in a push to significantly broaden its investor pool and consolidate its European footprint.

The moves outline a clear strategy, also described by SeedBlink CBO, based on three pillars: organic growth in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for Western Europe, and cross-border activities generating a strong network effect in the EU.

"There are fewer alternative investment solutions in CEE. That’s why we are going for organic growth in these markets, with offices already in Bulgaria and Greece and soon the Czech Republic. When it comes to Western European markets, they are larger and more mature from a venture capital perspective, with more alternative funding sources for startups and more opportunities and tools/platforms for private investors to invest," Ghenciu explained.

"Therefore, we try to enter these markets by leveraging the existing brands and investor networks of other crowdfunding platforms or business angel clubs," he added, stressing that the company is actively looking into similar opportunities such as the Symbid acquisition.

In June, the company opened its second branch outside Romania in Athens, Greece, after expanding in Sofia, Bulgaria, in May.

By focusing on Europe, SeedBlink aims to become "the European Tech Investment Infrastructure" that will transform the entrepreneurship ecosystem by financing and supporting the growth of tech companies that will, in turn, help Europe revive its innovation and catch up with the current strong markets, namely the U.S. and Asia.

However, the European market has specific challenges for growing and sustaining technology innovation after the scale-up phase, primarily related to securing funding, building strong boards and advisors, and overcoming institutional challenges in a very fragmented market, Ghenciu said.

But the tide is turning, he added, as private markets are opening and providing opportunities for different segments of the population to share in the benefits of equities. Technological innovation, regulatory advances and macroeconomic factors also play a positive role in the European startup ecosystem growth.

Earlier this month, SeedBlink received a licence from Romania's financial regulator, ASF, to provide crowdfunding services under the European Crowdfunding Services Providers Regulation (ECSPR). The licence will enable SeedBlink to strengthen its operational framework and pursue its European strategy.

SeedBlink is now the first CEE alternative co-investment platform authorized under the new regulation. At European level, four other platforms have received this licence from local jurisdictions - in Spain, Latvia, the Netherlands and France.

The not so optimistic economic outcome might be an obstacle for this plan, as it could affect the appetite for investing in riskier assets such as venture capital, but SeedBlink plans to mitigate this by securing sufficient funding to sustain operations and ensure that its investors have access to better deals as funding will generally be scarce, Ghenciu added.

Despite this, the macroeconomic context supports investing in startups to avoid inflation if the selected startups have a healthy strategy to avoid being heavily impacted by the crisis. Investing in startups is a medium-term investment, targeting liquidity events in 5-7 years, Ghenciu explained. "There is momentum for collaboration among various players at the EU level, more co-investors participating in rounds and adjusted valuations."

Launched in early 2020, SeedBlink is a specialized technology investment platform that enables individual investors to put money in leading European startups and scaleups alongside established institutional investors.

The company has thus far mobilised 145 million euro ($150 million) from more than 63,000 investors from 73 countries and has a portfolio of 255 funded European companies.

SeedBlink has offices in Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Ireland and the Netherlands.

($=0.967 euro)