The investment platform Capital Cell has restarted its internationalization plan, after having tried it in the United Kingdom five years ago.
On this occasion, the company plans to address Paris and Milan to become a reference platform for early investment in the world of health startups.
“Brexit made it difficult for us to operate in London and we decided to withdraw in 2019, two years after our arrival. Now, we are once again focusing on the foreign market thanks to the new European legislation on crowdfunding, which allows us to operate throughout the EU with the same license from the National Securities Market Commission," comments Daniel Oliver, CEO of the company, born in 2015.
The expansion to France and Italy will be financed with public and private funds. “We have raised 325,000 euros through a Romanian crowdfunding platform, called SeedBlink, and we plan to raise more than 300,000 euros through an Enisa loan,” says Oliver, owner of the business along with Mireia Florensa and more than 200 individual investors.
The commitment to internationalization comes at a time of growth. In recent years, the company has expanded its activity beyond crowdfunding. Now it not only channels small investment from individuals, but also intervenes in the financing of companies and venture capital funds. In this last group, the investments of Reig Jofre, Nara Capital, Ship2b, Quinton Medical and GM Pharma stand out.
The figures demonstrate the fit of this new investment model. In 2023, the platform achieved 21 million euros, 14% more, and only 40% of the total investment came from non-professional individuals. “We have become a platform that channels investments of all kinds in startups in the biotech sector in the initial phase.”
In the previous year, the platform financed 17 companies, 11 of which were based in Catalonia and the rest spread across several Spanish cities. This year, Oliver does not venture to make forecasts but hopes to carry out several divestments that guarantee a return to investors.
According to its calculations, Capital Cell has invested in 95 startups since 2019. Of this total, 80% survive and their value, on average, has multiplied by more than three times.
