This fi-compass Showcase 2019 submission is a video story about Smart Bill, an invoicing and inventory management software company from Bucharest, Romania. The company received as final recipient an equity investment from the JEREMIE Romania 2007-2013 financial instrument, co-financed with resources from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the national budget.

Mircea Capatina, Co-Founder of Smart Bill, explains in the video that the investment was used for growth, for marketing and sales and for the development of a new accounting software. He states in the video: “Without the financing we would have grown at a much slower pace.”

The video story includes also a short interview with Marius Ghenea from Catalyst Romania who explains how their investment in Smart Bill was possible with the support of European Union resources and how the fund manager supports the final recipient apart from the investment itself.

Cristian Ignat, Founder of Canopy, a customer of Smart Bill, discusses in the video how his company successfully works with Smart Bill’s software and how Smart Bill’s customer focus is very helpful for Canopy.

This ‘fi-compass Showcase 2019’ submission is a video story how four innovative Slovak companies were able to grow and expand thanks to received equity investment, co-financed with European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and provided by the Slovak Investment Holding (SIH), the fund of funds managing ESIF financial instruments in Slovakia. In this video, Ivan Lesay, the CEO of SIH, explains how this state-owned financial institution supports promising companies in Slovakia through ESIF financial instruments and what type of innovative companies are in the main focus of SIH.

The video showcases the following final recipients benefitting from SIH’s equity investments:

• KOOR is a Slovak energy services company, improving energy efficiency in buildings in an environment-friendly way. In the video, Milan Orlovský from KOOR explains how the company was able to grow thanks to the ESIF co-financed equity investment from SIH: “Today, we have more than 200 projects of all sizes, be it small, middle-size or large, and who knows where it will end as we have taken only up to 5 percent of the market until now.”

• GA Drilling is a hi-tech drilling company from Slovakia. Igor Kočiš from GA Drilling describes in the video the company’s research process which resulted in the development a new drilling technology using plasma, making drilling much easier, quicker and cheaper. He also discusses how he perceives SIH as an investor from the perspective of a final recipient.

• Boataround is a worldwide boat and yacht reservation portal, based in Bratislava, Slovakia. Thanks to SIH’s investment, the company was able to proceed with product development, staff training and marketing. Jana Escher from Boataround remembers: “Back when we were starting our business, we had two employees, and provided our services in two language versions. We currently employ over 30 people, our webpage is in 18 languages, and we have around-the-clock customer service.”

• GreenWay operates more than 250 stations in Slovakia and Poland making it the largest network of electric charging stations in Eastern Europe. The majority of the stations are fast charging stations. Peter Badík from GreenWay describes how the company secured in 2018 financing for further development of the company, including an ESIF equity investment from SIH and a loan from the EIB. This support enabled the company to develop their investment plan, which should result in the installation of more than 800 stations in the countries of operation.

This ‘fi-compass Showcase 2019’ submission is a video story about CIDAS, a social cooperative operative in four regions in Italy. The cooperative provides social services for elderly people and people with disabilities. It is also active in fields such as minors integration and reception of migrants, social integration and labour market inclusion. With help of the financial support of Emilia-Romagna region’s Energy Fund, the CIDAS nursing home in Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region purchased a micro-cogeneration plant with the objective to make this facility with the capacity of 186 elderly people more energy efficient. The Energy Fund is a financial instrument co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and part of Emilia-Romagna ERDF ROP 2014-2020. In this video, Mr Marcello, the Facility Manager of CIDAS, explains in detail how the facility’s heating and lighting were modernised with the help of the new micro-cogeneration plant and states: “All activities mentioned make part of the company’s philosophy of continuous improvement and greater attention to the consumption, the environment and the life quality of our residents.”