OREANDA-NEWS. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided a EUR 15 million facility to Kiosked for its research, development and innovation activities in the field of online advertising platforms and software. This first EIB equity-type transaction in Finland is supported by the new generation of financial instruments for innovative and growth companies “InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators”, with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020. “InnovFin MidCap Growth Finance” is a facility specifically dedicated to improving access to risk finance for the research and innovation projects of midcap and SMEs in the European Union.

Kiosked, a global advertising technology company headquartered in Espoo, enables publishers to generate additional revenue efficiently by providing advertisers high-performance, intelligent and programmatic ad placements. Thanks to the EIB loan, the company will be able to accelerate its development efforts to create innovative advertising platforms and mobile technologies for real-time bidding and data capabilities. Part of the EIB financing will also be used for other growth-related investments helping Kiosked to progress on its rapid expansion path. The company’s research and development operations are carried out mainly in Finland and the company plans to increase its number of employees fourfold over the next three years.

Jan Vapaavuori, EIB Vice-President responsible for operations in Finland, said, “Midcap companies have a key role to play in competitiveness, job creation and growth in Europe. “InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators” joint financial instruments aim to support midcap companies that consistently prove to be particularly strong in innovation. Kiosked, as a fast-growing and innovative technology company with significant growth potential, is an ideal candidate for this facility. We are pleased to be partnering with Kiosked in this breakthrough operation as it will enable the EU bank to support a successful European software company, thus enhancing Europe’s position as a major technology supplier and promoting skilled employment opportunities.”

Micke Paqvalen, Kiosked CEO and co-founder said, “We are truly excited to work with such a forward-thinking partner in the financing sector as the EIB. As the next-generation audience monetisation platform, our aim is to drive significant global growth. We know the EIB genuinely understands and supports our unique approach to delivering a superior advertising performance.”

European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals. In 2014, the EIB provided loans in Finland totalling more than EUR 1bn. The Bank’s lending focused on projects promoting the development of Finnish municipalities, as well as research, development and innovation (RDI) in the industrial sector.

Kiosked

Kiosked is the next generation platform for intelligent advertising and audience intelligence, designed to solve the industry’s major issues around content monetization, viewability and relevancy of ads. Kiosked does this by dynamically turning any content into unique ad placements across any screen and any ad format. Kiosked has been selected as one of the world’s best technology companies and was recently ranked as a national European Business Awards 2015/16 champion.

InnovFin financial products

Under Horizon 2020, the new EU research programme for 2014-20, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group (EIB and EIF) have launched a new generation of financial instruments and advisory services to help innovative firms access finance more easily. Over the next seven years, "InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators" will offer a range of tailored products which will make available more than EUR 24bn of financing support for research and innovation (R&I) by small, medium-sized and large companies and the promoters of research infrastructures. This finance is expected to support up to EUR 48bn of final R&I investments.

InnovFin builds on the success of the Risk-Sharing Finance Facility developed under the seventh EU framework programme for research and technological development (FP7), which financed 114 R&I projects to the tune of EUR 11.3bn and in addition provided loan guarantees worth over EUR 1.4bn.

Backed by funds set aside under Horizon 2020 and by the EIB Group, InnovFin financial products support R&I activities, which by their nature are riskier and harder to assess than traditional investments, and therefore often face difficulties in accessing finance. All are demand-driven instruments, with no prior allocations between sectors, countries or regions. Firms and other entities located in EU Member States and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries will be eligible as final beneficiaries. These debt instruments will be complemented in the near future by a suite of equity instruments managed by the EIF.

InnovFin MidCap Growth Finance offers long-term senior, subordinated or mezzanine loans from EUR 7.5 to 25m for innovative larger midcaps (up to 3000 employees), but also SMEs and small midcaps. Loans from EUR 7.5m to EUR 25m will be provided directly by the EIB.