News

The first edition of PGE Ventures’ scouting program was a great success. The fund received 148 applications which resulted in 82 meetings, 32 investment committees and 8 due diligence processes. The success of the first scouting program determined the decision to launch its second edition. The second edition will be extended and will take place in the Central and Eastern Europe.

The aim of PGE Ventures’ scouting programs is to reach and select companies that fit into the business needs of the PGE Capital Group. Young companies are evaluated in the selection process. Startups that best meet PGE’s investment criteria are then invited to the negotiations of the investment agreement.

The dynamic growth of PGE Ventures fund is a result of the PGE Group’s business strategy which was announced in 2016. The one of main goals of our new business strategy is to develop new business areas and diversify our revenue streams.  A team of specialists puts an effort to achieve this objective on a daily basis. We are successively entering into cooperation with young entrepreneurs whose innovative technologies will not only help to optimize processes within our Group, but will also enable the development of the whole energy sector in Poland – says Ryszard Wasiłek, Vice-President of the Management Board for the operational issues, PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A.

The first PGE Ventures’ portfolio companies are: PiMerge S.A. – company which implements innovative technology that can help to effectively reduce the problem of a smog, and Scanway sp. z o. o. – company which offers the technology of a highly advanced monitoring system for the industry.

In six months we managed to create a team of qualified specialists that possesses a profound knowledge in the field of business consulting, venture capital and the energy industry. Such a combination of people helps us to select promising startups that best suit PGE Group’s needs. As a result, we have already signed two investment agreements and we are close to finalizing a few more. I am convinced that the second edition of the scouting program will be even more interesting - says Piotr Czak, President of the Management Board, PGE Ventures Sp. z o. o

In 2018, PGE Ventures intends to launch the next edition of the scouting program. The second edition will also cover countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, the fund plans to organize the second event called “Startup Connector”. This event is an initiative of the Startup Poland Foundation which cooperated with PGE Ventures within the first edition of Startup Connector in 2017. During the first edition, within three days of the workshops, PGE Ventures’ team have met about 30 startups.

PGE Ventures also announced the launch of the external Venture Capital fund which will be based on the cooperation with National Center for Research and Development. The major advantage of such a cooperation is the possibility of using financial leverage, which can help to increase the pool of funds allocated for investments in innovative projects.