A team of investment experts with over 15 years’ experience in funding businesses has launched Aneli Capital, a €35 million fund to support early-stage startups in the Baltics, Poland, and other Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.
The fund will focus primarily on Information and Communication Technology (ICT), as well as robotics, space, photonics, and energy, with the aim of helping startups develop and attract follow-on investment.
CEE startups are gaining recognition internationally, but they continue to face challenges such as limited funding and slower scaling compared with their Western counterparts.
Aneli Capital intends to address these issues by providing capital alongside rapid decision-making and founder-friendly terms.
“Many investors lean in when a sector becomes fashionable and step back once the hype fades. We don’t work that way. We are going to look beyond hype cycles and focus on companies that build real products, attract paying customers early, and prove their economics,”
said Daiva Rakauskaitė, CFA, Partner and Fund Manager.
“Our goal is to be the partner that stays for the full journey, not just the exciting part at the beginning.”
Other partners include Nerijus Baliūnas, who leads business development and strategy; Jacek Blonski, responsible for deep tech, networking and negotiations; and Sabina Sinicienė, Investment Director.
The team has extensive experience in the investment sector, having managed Business Angel Fund II and co-founded both the Lithuanian Venture Capital Association and the Lithuanian Business Angel Network (LitBAN).
Aneli Capital plans to make around 20 investments over the next five years, with an average of €1.5 million per startup, and expects to fund eight companies next year while exiting others from previous funds.
More than half of the fund will target Lithuanian startups, with the remainder supporting ventures in Latvia, Estonia, Poland and other CEE countries.
The fund is partly financed by the National Lithuanian Development Bank ILTE and the fund of Warsaw-listed Magna Polonia, with plans to attract additional investors.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by DC Studio via Freepik
