2018 Startup GUIDE - 10th Edition

COVER STORIES 43
SVC Ltd. for Risk Capital for SMEs
Investing in Swiss Entrepreneurship
The presenting partner of the 2018 Swiss Startup Days, founded
in collaboration with the Swiss Venture Club as a wholly owned
subsidiary of Credit Suisse (Switzerland) Ltd., provides venture
capital to small and medium-sized enterprises as well as young
entrepreneurs and start-up companies.
For this purpose, SVC Ltd. for Risk Capital for SMEs (SVC Ltd.) is
providing a total of CHF 130 million in private capital – with CHF
30 million earmarked for fintech companies. Furthermore, it also
supports its investments with advice and expertise from a comprehensive
network of partners.
LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS
SVC Ltd. facilitates the development of SMEs in various stages
of their life cycle in a quick and straightforward manner. In doing
so, it also seeks to make a contribution to competitive advantage
in Switzerland. In terms of its investments, SVC Ltd.’s main
focus is on long-term financial impact. This also applies to SVC
Ltd. itself: Set-up as an evergreen structure, the profits generated
from investments in line with the respective sector’s standard
conditions are not required to be distributed back to Credit Suisse,
but can immediately be plowed back into the investment cycle
and thus once more become available as financial resources
for Swiss SMEs.
Now in its eighth year of operation, given its investment focus
both on established SMEs and early-stage investments within
medtech, automation/robotics, and fintech, SVC Ltd. is able to
achieve positive returns on its investments and thus continue to
grow its investment capital. Due to the status of the investment
portfolio, SVC Ltd. made some successful divestments both in
2017 and the first half of 2018, and was able to make a positive
contribution to its perpetual investment model.
As per June 30, 2018, SVC Ltd. has held 87 funding rounds for 45
companies. A total of CHF 110 million has been invested – and
there are additional funds on hand for further investments.
SVC Ltd. covers a broad portion of the companies’ life cycles,
with investments ranging from relatively young companies to established
SMEs. In the past, the range of sectors has been just as
broad, with investments made in the food, high-tech, and transport
industries along with many others. This wide scope of activity
is reduced for the early-stage investments.
Investments by sector:
“We want to focus our investments on three – for Switzerland
– strategic areas that we believe have a promising future,” says
CEO Elios Elsener. “Based on our team’s industry expertise, we
aim to be perceived as experts in the field of robotics & automation,
the medtech, and the fintech sectors. To achieve this, the geographic
focus has been slightly adapted. In the past, companies
had to be domiciled in Switzerland – but in a digital, global environment,
strong ties to Switzerland will suffice in future.”
7% Comestible goods
1% Fintech
3% Cleantech
2% Chemical industry
4% Media / social network
5% Transportation
13% Consumer goods
19% Applied informatics
16% Medtech
30% Engineering
SWISS STARTUP GUIDE 2018