Alongside the Comité d’Expansion Economique of Val d’Oise (CEEVO) and the Mouvement from Entreprises of France of Val d’Oise (MEVO), WAGAS Group will soon be launching “WAGAS Deep Tech Val d’Oise Paris CDG European Gateway SA” (aka “WAGAS Deep Tech fund”), an Evergreen investment fund, specializing in supporting innovative Deep Tech companies (start-ups, SMEs, ETIs, etc.) to promote their growth.
Running an innovative company in one of the Deep Tech sectors, and managing to make a business model economically sustainable, is for many an achievement. Although new technologies have strong growth potential, the availability of funds to support the development of companies remains a major issue and a substantial brake on the development of start-ups and their ecosystem. For those that do find a buyer, bringing in a fund to invest in the company commits the managers for many years with a partner whose primary goal is to make a capital gain with little risk. Moreover, the eligibility requirements are often prohibitive for many companies. Is it impossible to reconcile financial profitability and growth in innovation in such a context?
The objective of supporting innovative companies through the creation of a territorial investment fund, anchored in the Val d’Oise, is an answer to this problem. The investment fund will specialize in supporting innovative Deep Tech companies (start-ups, SMEs, ETIs, etc.), and will soon be listed on the secondary market of Euronext.
Taking an active part in the company’s development
Unlike many funds, WAGAS Deep Tech fund offers an investment vehicle that allows companies the same flexibility in their governance, without the constraint of dealing with new shareholders to make strategic decisions. Indeed, the fund is intended to be non-dilutive, since the investments made will not be preceded by a financial valuation of the company, nor by negotiation of the percentage of shares given up in return for the investment, nor will it be subject to certain conditions regarding governance choices.
The sole objective of the WAGAS Deep Tech fund investment vehicle is to grow the company through financing and idiosyncratic support depending on its stage of development.
Its model is based on a sharing of the surplus value of the profits made by the company thanks to the funds injected. In other words, the subscribers will reap the benefits of the company’s commercial progress, while the entrepreneurs will benefit from substantial financing to increase the company’s financial value, without initial dilution of the share capital.
The specific investment strategy of the WAGAS Deep Tech fund also aims to take an active part in the company’s development, and not to limit the fund’s role to financing innovation. A specific technological platform has been developed to select high-potential companies and develop a unique international support plan lasting from two to seven years. This technology platform, WAGAS Ventures, is accessible by invitation and uses the latest developments in actuarial science, market analysis, Big Data and Machine Learning.
Establish a partnership relationship
This will create a real partnership relationship that will allow companies to benefit from resources, expertise, advice and contacts with potential customers. This well-defined structured support offers the possibility of entering new markets while working together for the long-term success of the company. WAGAS Deep Tech fund has joined forces with the Val d’Oise Department, and has set itself the goal of contributing to the France Recovery Plan to help innovative companies, through innovative financing and dedicated development support. The immediate benefit of these initiatives will be the creation of local jobs, while encouraging cross-fertilization of innovation between companies. To this end, the founding members of the WAGAS Deep Tech fund regularly organize digital business conventions, in partnership with the French group PROXIMUM, creators of the B2B platform Vimeet. During these remote and/or face-to-face events, their respective international ecosystems come together to present, discuss and share the latest in Deep Tech innovation.
For more information, please contact the WAGAS team or for all new applications, you can submit your requests by visiting our website wagas-group.com.
“The investment vehicle of the WAGAS Deep Tech fund has the sole objective of company growth” – Jonathan Partouche.
