The buzz around the next generation of agritech is part of the ‘A Different Angle’ film series, exploring the role of private equity and venture capital in European society. This unique film series, presented by Invest Europe, the world’s largest association of private capital providers, and produced by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions, brings to screen the human stories at the heart of the businesses that are driving change and fuelling growth through private capital.
A Different Angle aims to improve the understanding of private equity and venture capital, demystifying the virtuous circle of investing that supports our pensions and savings while exploring the true nature of innovation in Europe. It will also raise awareness about the expertise injected into businesses alongside capital, and how profit and purpose, such as high social and environmental goals, can work in harmony to produce better returns for investors and society.
Ex-IT engineer turned beekeeper with 20 hives on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, Bogdan Iordache created Apiary Book app in 2015, thanks to a European Investment Fund-backed venture capital fund.
No digital monitoring and tracking device existed before, making this a one man mission to stop people chronicling notes in marker pen on the roof of their hives and instead create a data-sharing global community translated into 17 languages. This is a story about securing jobs for future beekeepers and inspiring the potential farmers of the next generation. We also tell the bigger finance story of the birth of the Eastern Europe Venture Capital ecosystem via this tale of a global love of bees and how a world without them would destroy the delicate balance of the Earth's own ecosystem and affect global food supplies.
With private equity and venture capital-backed companies employing some 10.2 million people across Europe in 2019 (and some 186,000 in the agriculture sector alone), the next generation can be enticed into agriculture, using tech knowledge to transform archaic and often non-scalable practices into viable and profitable businesses.
This video was produced for Invest Europe by BBC StoryWorks, the commercial content division of BBC Global News.
View on BBC.com (not available to UK audiences).
Invest Europe, in partnership with the European Investment Fund (EIF), published ‘The VC Factor - Pandemic Edition’, a new report illustrating European venture capital’s continued strong support for innovative and fast-growing start-ups in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The European Investment Fund (EIF) with the support of Invest Europe, published 'The VC Survey 2021: Market Sentiment,' a new report that provides an opportunity to retrieve unique market insights. The paper focuses on the market sentiment and the impact of COVID-19. The study looks at the current situation, developments in the recent past and expectations for the future.
The report offers an in-depth study of private equity’s role in innovation and economic development across Central and Eastern Europe through detailed case studies of companies backed by private equity investors during 2015-2019.
The most comprehensive analysis of fundraising, investment and divestment trends with data on more than 1,600 European private equity and venture capital firms, the 2020 statistics cover 89% of the €708bn in capital under management in Europe.
Detailed evidence and analysis of the European private equity and venture capital industry’s real contribution to employment, in 2020, and job creation, in 2019-20, and the far-reaching impact this has on the people, societies and economies of Europe.
The Venture Capital Forum is recognised as a leading European conference for LPs and GPs engaged in VC activity. Every year LPs and GPs gather to gain insight into the evolution of VC investment and debate the key topics for the future.
Eric Drosin
Communication Director
Cristian Gheorghiu
Online Communications Manager
Robin Hörrmann
Communications Manager
Guillaume Périgois
Senior Communication Manager
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