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Francisco Norris, Founder of InnovationRCA start-up ZELP (Zero Emissions Livestock Project), presents the company at the launch of the RCA Battersea campus, May 2022

Key details

Date

  • 25 January 2024

Author

  • RCA

Read time

  • 1 minute

The Seed / Enterprise Investment Scheme (S/EIS) fund will focus on backing early-stage companies founded by RCA staff or graduates. Reflecting the nature of innovation at the RCA, the multi-sector fund is likely to include technology and product companies encompassing the med-tech, climate-tech and ag-tech sectors, as well as software companies and creative brands, many of which will be based on patentable inventions. To date, InnovationRCA (the RCA’s award-winning centre for entrepreneurship, incubation and business support) has backed over 80 design-led ventures and these have gone on to raise over £135 million from other investors. Around 40% of the InnovationRCA’s portfolio consists of impact-for-profit companies and in the past five years 52% have been women-led.

This new £2.5m-£5m fund will allow qualified investors to access companies at a very early stage while valuations are low and those companies will be incubated and supported by InnovationRCA.

The fund will now make its first investments and expects to invest in 15-20 S/EIS qualifying companies in total over 18-24 months. It will invest at the pre-seed and seed stage and be the first investor, and will also make follow-on investments. The fund will enable individual investors to benefit from the HMRC Seed Enterprise Investment and Enterprise Investment Schemes that provide 30%- 50% tax reliefs respectively subject to complying with certain conditions.