Barcelona-based VC firm Encomenda today announced the first close of its new Encomenda II fund, as well as its first seven investments from the new pot of money.
Encomenda has raised €15m from partners, including family offices and successful founders, but says it aims to invest €40m to €50m in early-stage startups with a focus on companies based in southern Europe and Latin America.
The first seven investments include motorbikes marketplace Cüimo; parking operators’ platform Mitte; logistic robotics firm Illumo Robotics; We are Evolbe, a matchmaking app to help startups find a team; fintech Ezpays; the hotel-specific sustainability certification platform Ecostars, and the SaaS for the digitalisation of small- and medium-sized businesses Zinkee.
The VC firm, led by Carlos Blanco and Mercè Tell, analysed more than 900 startups before selecting these seven. Blanco tells Sifted they plan to invest €12m-€15m between 40 and 50 startups, initially with smaller tickets of €100k-500k, and follow on with bigger amounts for those startups with a stronger performance.
Encomenda hopes it will be able to back the best startups until their Series B, Blanco says. The firm’s previous fund, called Encomenda Smart Capital, invested a total of €24m.
“After 2023, with a very low level of investment in Spain, we believe 2024 is a spectacular moment to invest in new tech companies in early stages,” Blanco, who is known for having invested in the Spanish unicorn Glovo, adds.
This, he says, is because some strategic technologies such as AI, big data, virtual reality, blockchain and cloud computing are maturing and integrating, paving the way for a “new era with big investment opportunities”.
Of the seven startups backed by the fund so far, three are based in Madrid, with the others headquartered in Barcelona, Seville, Toulouse and London. But Blanco says they’ve also got their sights on potential investments in Latin America.
