Since 2006, the Slovenian Enterprise Fund (SEF) has been encouraging young innovative companies with startup grants. Between 2014 and 2023, it also conducted public tenders for seed capital for young innovative companies in the form of convertible loans and direct investments. SEF supported 131 companies with seed capital, totalling EUR 14.7 million in public funds. The supported companies additionally raised EUR 14.2 million in private investments.

Based on its support for companies in the early stages of development, SEF is aware of the difficulties that supported companies face in obtaining subsequent rounds of funding to expand to international markets. This phase, which is extremely risky and requires increasingly higher investments, is crucial for the survival of young companies. Therefore, SEF aims to bridge this market gap by establishing the Slovenian Capital Fund for Startup Innovations.

It is foreseen that SEF will replace its existing public seed capital tenders with the establishment of a Fund of Funds for Startup Innovations. Thus, SEF will no longer directly invest in companies but will select a manager for the venture/seed capital fund through a public tender, who will invest in young innovative startups. The selected manager will also need to raise additional capital from private investors. It is expected that between EUR 20 and 30 million of public (SEF) and private capital will be available for investments in seed-stage companies.