News | 22.04.2020

VR Ventures – Europe’s newest fintech-focused fund in Berlin

Berliner Volksbank cooperates with Redstone Digital to initiate the VR Ventures fund.

VR Ventures’ first closing marks the start for the new venture capital fund designed to function as a driver of innovation within the finance industry and real estate sector. VR Ventures thereby signifies profound expertise, skilled entrepreneurship, reliability, and partnership on equal terms.

The focus of the fund’s investments is on leading-edge startups in the financial services and real estate sector as well as on congeneric digital business solutions for small and medium- sized enterprises. Investments in high-profile teams and outstanding solutions from the late seeding-phase onwards are being made throughout Europe.

Andreas Laule (managing director, VR Ventures), `It is VR Ventures’ mission, to build on Berliner Volksbank’s experience and expertise, to ensure our participating investor immediate access to strategically relevant startups, and therefore attractive returns. ́

Timo Fleig (managing director, VR Ventures), `We are investing in industry sectors that are familiar to us and to our investors’ business fields. It is the particular market knowledge that does not only enable us to select the strongest portfolio companies, but also to share the access to our excellent network, and to embrace the opportunities of the digital revolution. ́

Samuli Sirén (managing director, Redstone Digital), `We are proudly looking forward to introducing our data-driven venture capital approach, and to building on our successful collaboration. ́

For the Volksbank-Raiffeisenbank-group, VR Ventures marks a big step forward into the future of banking industry. Alongside with Berliner Volksbank, the Bank 1 Saar, the Rheingauer Volksbank, the Verbund Volksbank OWL, the Volksbank Bielefeld-Gütersloh, the Volksbank Kassel Göttingen, the Volksbank Rhein-Ruhr, the VR-Bank Südpfalz, and the VR- Bank Würzburg participate in VR Ventures. Outside the framework of the Genossenschaftliche FinanzGruppe, the IDEAL Lebensversicherung has been acquired as an investor. With ten investors involved, the fund currently totals 40 million euros, leaving open the opportunity for further institutional investors to get involved over the upcoming twelve months.