EuVECA and EuSEF manager registers

Publication date: May 26, 2025

Venture capital financing is an institution that is well-rooted in legal regulations, including EU regulations, concerning the support of small and medium-sized enterprises. The article focuses on EuVECA and EuSEF funds, which have been regulated in detail in two EU regulations, along with the registers managing EuVECA and EuSEF, including the objectives and functions of these registers and the conditions that funds must meet in order to be able to register under this institution.

Venture Capital

Venture Capital is a form of financing for small and medium-sized companies, including start-ups. Support is not provided by traditional institutions such as banks, but by specialized Venture Capital funds. This method of financing may take the form of purchasing shares or stocks. In addition to financing, Venture Capital may also offer consulting or transfer of know-how. This form of financing is associated with uncertainty as to the return on investment, but investors taking the risk assume that their rate of return will be high. Most often, this method of financing applies to companies that are not listed on the stock exchange. In principle, this form of financing is used by companies that have already achieved success, but need more capital for further development and increasing production capacity. According to the first recital of the regulation on EuVeca of April 17, 2013, venture capital is the financing of companies that are usually very small and are in the initial stages of business development. In addition to financing, funds are also to provide expertise and experience as well as business contacts, brand value and strategic consulting. Venture capital funds help stimulate economic growth, create new jobs, mobilise capital, support the creation and development of enterprises and increase investment in research and development.

What is EuVECA and EuSEF?

EuVECA is the name of European venture capital funds. According to the current regulation on EuVECA, the unification and harmonization of the regulations on EuVECA is to increase the confidence of investors who, thanks to clear and uniform regulations, can decide to invest in this type of venture capital. The purpose of the regulation is also to specify the quality requirements for the possibility of using the name “EuVECA”, and direct application of the requirements specified in the regulation is to ensure uniform conditions for the use of this name, which is to prevent the emergence of divergences in national requirements as a result of the transposition of the directive. The regulation is also intended to reduce the complexity of regulatory provisions and the costs incurred in complying with divergent national regulations on venture capital funds. The regulation is also intended to eliminate distortions of competition.

In order to be able to register under the EuVECA name and then market funds in the European Union, fund managers must establish a fund that:

1. invests 70% of the capital received from investors in eligible enterprises, such as young and innovative SMEs;
2. provides equity or quasi-equity financing (i.e. fresh capital) to these enterprises;
3. does not use leverage (i.e. is not indebted because it does not invest more capital than declared by investors).

The regulation also specifies quality criteria for managers of qualifying venture capital funds. The criteria specify the methods of organizing and running the funds and the form of informing investors about the activities and investment policy.

Fund managers are also required to register in the country where the fund is established. Countries where the fund is established are required to ensure compliance with all provisions set out in the regulation. The regulation also specifies that EuVECA may be invested in by professional investors and certain other categories of investors, such as high net worth individuals. The indication of entities that may invest in EuVECA results from the significant risk associated with this form of financing.

In accordance with the current Regulation on European Social Entrepreneurship Funds of 17 April 2013, there is also the EuSEF fund label, which was created to identify funds focusing on European social enterprises, thus making it easier for them to obtain investments.

Social enterprises are primarily focused on social priorities, and less focused on maximizing profits. Despite receiving public support, private sector funding has a significant impact on the level of development of these enterprises.

The problems faced by the companies in question include the cost and difficulty of establishing a fund and attracting investors, and the difficulty of identifying such companies by investors. The regulation in question aims to prevent these barriers and establish uniform requirements for companies that will be able to use the EuSEF label, which is to increase investor awareness and confidence.

The requirements imposed on funds promoting themselves using the EuSEF label include:

1. directing at least 70% of its investments to social enterprises;
2. presenting key information to investors in a standardised way. The disclosure obligation applies to information such as: the social objectives of the fund; the social enterprises in which the fund invests; the methods of assessing whether the enterprises in question are achieving their social objectives.

EuVECA and EuSEF management registers

In order to ensure effective supervision of the uniform requirements contained in Regulation No 345/2013, the competent authority of the home Member State should supervise compliance by managers of qualifying venture capital funds with the uniform requirements contained in that Regulation. To that end, a manager who intends to market qualifying funds under the EuVEVA label should inform the competent authority of its home Member State of that intention. The competent authority should register the manager, provided that all the necessary information is provided and the requirements set out in that Regulation are met. Such registration should be valid throughout the European Union.

The registers are available on the following websites:

1. Polish Financial Supervision Commission [KNF] Register – EuVECA and EuSEF register kept by the relevant authority of a Member State, i.e. Polish Financial Supervision Commission;
2. ESMA Register – Alternative Investment Company, EuVECA and EuSEF register operated by ESMA.

Article 17 of the European Venture Capital Funds Regulation requires ESMA to maintain a central database, publicly accessible via the internet, listing all managers of qualifying venture capital funds that use the EuVECA label.

In turn, Article 18 of the Regulation on European Social Entrepreneurship Funds provides for a central database operated by ESMA, which is to include data on entities using the EuSEF label, i.e. entities managing qualifying social entrepreneurship funds.

This method of registering EuVECA and EuSEF managers facilitates the marketing of qualifying venture capital funds throughout the European Union. The registration process should take into account the need to balance the security and reliability associated with the use of the EuVECA mark with the effective functioning of the venture capital market.

The EuVECA and EuSEF management registers are also indicated in the Ordinary Act of 27 May 2004 on Investment Funds and the Management of Alternative Investment Funds. According to Article 2, point 45:

• when referring to the register of EuVECA managers, this means the register of ASI companies and managers authorised to manage alternative investment funds using the name “EuVECA”, maintained by the Commission in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation 345/2013.

In turn, Article 2, point 46 provides:

• register of EuSEF managers – this means the register of companies and ASI managers authorised to manage alternative investment funds using the designation “EuSEF”, maintained by the Commission in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation 346/2013.

In accordance with Article 14 of Regulation 345/2013 referred to above, it should be noted that managers of qualifying venture capital funds shall inform the competent authority of the home Member State of their intention and provide the following information:

1. the identity of the persons effectively conducting the business of managing qualifying venture capital funds;
2. particulars identifying the qualifying venture capital funds whose units or shares are to be marketed and their investment strategies;
3. information on the arrangements made to ensure compliance with the requirements set out in Chapter II [Chapter II concerns the conditions for use of the EuVECA name];
4. a list of the Member States in which the manager of a qualifying venture capital fund intends to market each qualifying venture capital fund.

Registration can only take place if the information provided above is complete and, in addition, the persons actually conducting the business of managing qualifying venture capital funds enjoy a sufficiently good reputation and have sufficient experience. Correctly completed registration is valid throughout the European Union and allows venture capital managers to market qualifying venture capital funds throughout the Union under the name EuVECA.

A similar regulation is included in Article 15 of Regulation 346/2013.

The above considerations presented the basic issues concerning the essence of EuVECA and EuSEF, including information particularly important in the matter of registration of managers of these names. Basically, the registers and detailed information have been regulated on the basis of EU regulations 345/2013 and 346/2013 and additionally they were cited in the text of the act on investment funds and management of alternative investment funds.