ICO will invest up to 900 million euros in 12 funds to boost the growth and green and digital transformation of Spanish companies

03 junio 2024

  • The resources to be invested by ICO through AXIS, its venture capital subsidiary, in this call will come from three of the initiatives it will manage in the second phase of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan: ICO Verde, ICO Empresas y Emprendedores, and ICO Spain Audiovisual Hub
  • The approved investment, thanks to the public-private partnership scheme under which Fond-ICO Global operates, will be able to mobilise 2.4 billion euros for projects in Spain
  • The Fond-ICO Global call resolved today is the largest to date and also the one with the highest number of applications, with 37 funds submitted

AXIS, the venture capital subsidiary of ICO Group, has resolved the 16th call of Fond-ICO Global with the selection of 12 funds in which it will invest 900 million euros, the largest volume to date.

Thanks to the leverage effect generated by the public-private partnership scheme that operates this vehicle, with the 900 million in approved investment, the selected funds will be able to mobilise 2.4 billion euros in financing for Spanish companies and projects.

Today’s call for applications is the one with the highest number of applications, with 37 fund managers/funds submitted in total for the categories offered. Of the total number of candidates presented, 27% are funds/managers that are participating for the first time in a Fond-ICO Global call, which demonstrates the consolidation of this successful model of public-private collaboration aimed at boosting the venture capital sector in Spain and which will be an important part of the deployment of the second phase of the Recovery Plan.

The fund managers whose funds have been selected are as follows:

Expansion Category:

•    Miura Partners, S.G.E.E.I.C., S.A.
•    Nazca Capital, S.G.E.I.C., S.A.
•    Portobello Capital Gestión, S.G.E.I.C., S.A.
•    Queka R.P. S.G.E.E.I.C., S.A.

Venture Capital Category

•    Actyus Private Equity S.G.I.I.C., S.A.U.
•    Asabys Partners S.G.E.I.C., S.A.
•    Cardumen Capital S.G.E.I.C., S.A.
•    JME Venture Capital S.G.E.I.C., S.A.

Incubation/Technology Transfer Category:

•    Abac Capital Manager S.G.E.E.I.C., S.A.U.
•    Business Booster S.G.E.I.C., S.A.
•    Lanai Capital Ventures S.L.
•    Sabang Investments, S.G.E.I.C. S.A.


The 900 million euros o be invested by AXIS is targeted at companies at all stages of development, distributed as follows between the categories: 600 million will be invested in the selected “Expansion Capital” funds, 200 million in the selected “Venture Capital” funds and 100 million in the “Incubation/Technology Transfer” funds. 

The funds used by AXIS in this 16th call will come, depending on the type of project, from three of the lines to be deployed by ICO in the second phase of the Recovery Plan -ICO Verde, ICO Empresas y Emprendedores, and Spain Audiovisual Hub - and will promote investments that foster business growth and green and digital transformation.

The investments of the Green ICO line foster, among others, the generation of renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable mobility and the circular economy. The projects supported by Companies and Entrepreneurs boost business growth and competitiveness and the Spain Audiovisual Hub initiative is aimed at boosting the digitisation and production of the Spanish audiovisual and video games sector.

New features introduced in the 16th Call

The Recovery Plan loans have increased both the amounts that Fond-ICO Global can disburse in each of the selected funds/managers, as well as the maximum investment percentage. This reinforces the role of the Public Fund as an anchor investor and the commitment to the development of the venture capital industry. 

Specifically, in the Expansion category, Fond-ICO Global may inject up to 150 million euros in each of the selected funds, thus exceeding the limit set in the previous call by 50 million euros euros. In the Venture Capital category, the threshold is raised from 30 million euros to 50 million euros and from 20 million euros to 25 million euros in the Technology Transfer and Incubation category.

The maximum percentage that Fond-ICO Global’s investment can represent in the size of the funds in which it participates in all categories is also increased to 49%. This measure helps funds to reach their target size earlier to start investing in projects, while preserving the majority participation of private investors, which will represent at least 51% of the total. 

The selected managers/funds have a period of 18 months to attract the participation of private investors to complete the target size of the Funds with their contributions.

Fond-ICO Global and its main figures

Fond-ICO Global promotes the development and consolidation of the private equity ecosystem in Spain from early stage to growth and debt. It is endowed with 4.5 billion euros, following the extension in July 2020 by an additional 2.5 billion euros for the period 2021-2027.

In the 15 Fond-ICO Global calls, 130 private funds have been selected to invest a maximum of 3,426 million euros.  It is estimated that the multiplier effect of Fond-ICO Global, together with private sector investments, will inject more than 11.4 billion euros into Spanish companies and a total mobilisation of resources of 30.288 billion euros.

About AXIS

AXIS is active in public-private partnerships with the private equity industry in all areas of activity and currently has commitments to manage up to 12.15 billion euros across its four funds: Fond-ICO Global, Fond-ICO Next Tech, Fond-ICO Pyme, and Fond-ICO Sustainability and Infrastructures. These commitments will jointly mobilise public and private resources of more than 24 billion euros over the next five years, depending on the private sector’s capacity to absorb resources and deliver projects.