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GPW Ventures and KOWR Sign a Memorandum of Understanding to Invest Jointly in Development of Polish Agriculture

PRESS RELEASE

• GPW Ventures and Poland’s National Centre for Agricultural Support (KOWR) have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the KOWR Ventures Fund which will invest in innovative SMEs
• The project will support the development of agriculture, the food and agricultural industry, and rural areas in Poland through innovative solutions

On Tuesday, 14 July 2020, GPW Ventures, a subsidiary of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, and the National Centre for Agricultural Support (KOWR) have signed a memorandum of understanding concerning co-operation in the development of innovation in the agricultural sector. The MoU was signed in the presence of Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski, Secretary of State in the Ministry of State Assets Artur Soboń, KOWR Deputy Director General Wojciech Kędzia, GPW CEO Marek Dietl and GPW Ventures CEO Piotr Gębala.

“Poles are talented people but many of our ideas have fallen through for lack of funding. We will now get a state-of-the-art tool to support innovative ideas. Combined with the potential of the Polish agriculture and the experience of Polish farmers, it will ensure professional business screening of projects. The partnership between GPW Ventures and KOWR opens a new chapter for Polish agriculture,” said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski.

The partnership between GPW Ventures and KOWR will support the development of the food and agricultural industries, renewable energy sources in agriculture, and rural areas by financing innovation and development, including venture capital (VC) funds. In the project, GPW Ventures will establish and manage an investment fund dedicated to KOWR. KOWR will be the sole investor of the Fund.

“The Fund is the second initiative of GPW and KOWR this year aiming to support the development of Polish agriculture. The Exchange which is considered the heart of the capital market will provide professional expertise in the KOWR Ventures Fund selection and investment process. We are proud that GPW is developing so fast, entering new business segments and taking up new challenges in new sectors of the economy,” said Secretary of State in the Ministry of State Assets Artur Soboń.

KOWR is planning to invest up to PLN 25 million of assets managed by GPW Ventures in 2020 and possibly more in the coming years. KOWR Ventures Fund assets will be invested in companies whose business helps to improve the competitiveness of agriculture and the profitability of agricultural establishments, supports effective management of resources and prevents climate change, including renewable energy sources and the development of non-agricultural activity in rural areas.

“The KOWR Ventures Fund will be addressed to operators active in agriculture in the broad sense and providers of support activities on that market. It was never easy to evaluate the innovative edge of project proposals from the business perspective. But now, owing to GPW Ventures’ advanced competences in investment and technology, we can efficiently leverage the potential of the Polish industry in agriculture,” said KOWR Deputy Director General Wojciech Kędzia.

The KOWR Ventures Fund will support innovation and development initiatives focusing on technology, product, process, organisation, and marketing innovations.

“It is the mission of GPW Ventures to attract companies to the capital market by offering funding even before they are listed. We have established GPW Ventures to improve access of micro-firms, small and mid-sized companies to funding through VC funds. We expect that GPW Ventures will attract SME issuers to the exchange. Our initiative has been proved right by the plans of the European Commission to establish a special public-private fund to support SME IPOs”, said GPW CEO Marek Dietl. “The partnership with KOWR will help those companies which offer solutions for agriculture to go public. The Polish food and agricultural industry has recently become a major global player. With further improvement of its competitiveness and innovation, it will continue to expand to the global markets,” said Mr Dietl.

GPW Ventures is a fund-of-funds which invests assets of investors in VC funds at arm’s length. It selects those VC funds whose strategy is to invest in SMEs or to divest through a Pre-IPO, an IPO or, in the case of multiple investment rounds, an SPO on the GPW Main Market or NewConnect.

“The memorandum of understanding with KOWR is the first step in a broader initiative, and the agricultural market is its first participant. GPW Ventures pursues top international standards set by Invest Europe, the European Investment Fund, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. We want to become a part of the ecosystem which efficiently supports the financing of innovation and technology on the capital market,” said GPW Ventures CEO Piotr Gębala.

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GPW Ventures ASI S.A. was established by the Warsaw Stock Exchange in February 2019 and registered in the National Court Register in November 2019. The company was entered into the Register of Alternative Investment Fund Managers maintained by the Office of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority in late October 2019.

The Warsaw Stock Exchange Group (GPW Group) operates trading platforms for shares, Treasury and corporate bonds, derivatives, electricity and gas, and provides indices and benchmarks including WIBOR and WIBID. The index agent FTSE Russell classifies the Polish capital market as a Developed Market since 2018. The markets operated by the GPW Group are the biggest in Central and Eastern Europe. For more information, visit www.gpw.pl