FAQ
Will the investment partners invest independently of each other?
- There is no mutual obligation to invest.
- Each partner invests at personal title.
Can a company chose among investors?
- The taken initiative proposes a balanced investment between the local as well as the financial investor as well as the strategic partner Belgacom aiming to accelerate the candidates business plan.
- This being said, each company is free to choose her preferred partners.
Do partners envisage to take a majority stake in the company?
- We prefer to guarantee the continuity of the company and therefore we wish to keep the founders on board. This is in our opinion the best way to build and extend the success story and this for the interest of all shareholders
- We therefore prefer to have a minority stake as shareholder, certainly in a First phase. This will allow the founding shareholders to keep control over the mother company.
- After a while, it could be considered to de-creaese the participation level of the funding in favor of the other shareholders.
Does the agreement cover early stage initiatives (ideation or project conceptual phase)?
- No, this initiative aims companies that have achieved a mature stage, There are other better positioned initiatives like business angels that are more appropriate for early stage funding.
- This cooperation is oriented towards structural companies who already had a First round investment.
What are the criteria used to define the relevant regional investor?
- The geographic location of the company will be the indicator of which regional investor should be addressed. But, each company is free to choose its preferred partner.
What is the investment horizon of the partners / what is time frame shares will be sold?
- There is no predefined investment window. It is in our intention to invest as long as needed to have the proposed concept industrialized so the company may commercialize products on large scale.
- However, each partner is free, within the agreed framework, to sell their shares.
How will partners follow up and proceed with the proposed files?
- Each file will be analyzed and evaluated based on pre-defined criteria that may be consulted on our site.
- We commit to give an answer on each proposal, made by any company
Is the EUR 500.000 minimum barrier flexible ?
- Belgacom as a strategic investor targets to be an extra value for a company and by this accelerates the company’s business plan. To fulfill this task, Belgacom commits to free-up the needed resources (people etc). Therefore, we wish to focus on investments with a maximum of added value. To do so, a minimum investment of EUR 500.000 has been defined.
How do partners guarantee confidentiality towards the companies entering a file?
- All parties declare to guarantee confidentiality on exchanged information during the First stage of the contact.
- To strengthen this confidentiality a non-disclosure agreement will be signed by all parties as soon as more in-depth analysis of the file is envisaged.
- As a potential candidate shareholder, the importance of confidentiality concerning this initiative is unarguable.
What kind of information should be included in the file to allow the partners to validate the proposal?
- The content of the file needs to fulfill the investments expectations; a clear description of the proposed concept, the real and expected market need, including potential customers and a business plan.
- Click here to see the selection criteria.