CREAFUND NV was established in March 1997 at the initiative of 10 mainly West-Flemish industrialists with a global starting capital of 2,5 mio €.. The same entrepreneurs also created the second fund, CREAFUND II CVA (see bottom of this page).

As a venture capital fund CREAFUND NV has always followed the basic idea to invest in creative and innovative businesses or sectors with the intention of co-operating actively to growth. The Board of Directors and the majority of the shareholders are entrepreneurs that have been successful in business (some of them more than once) converting the growth of their business into cash through stock exchange, acquisition or merger.

Strengthened by their experience, these entrepreneurs have chosen to remain entrepreneurs. They are fascinated by the pioneer basis from which growing companies originate. With a lot of effort they mobilize not only the capital, but also their own experience, the networks and their common sense to make of CREAFUND NV the perfect for growth. 

In all CREAFUND NV has taken 43 participations, of which about 7 companies are still in portfolio today. The capital (including issue premiums) grew in that period to 34,33 mio €, of which in the meantime 7,68 mio € was reimbursed to the 60 shareholders. Apart from that the portfolio shows important unrealized capital gains.

"CREAFUND" has a solid position in the Flemish landscape of venture capital. A strong deal flow (30 to 40 new introduced dossiers per month in 2001) – continued by the second fund – a pragmatical approach to deal with entrepreneurs and a solid support to the participations in co-operation with their management – have made of CREAFUND NV an active partner for early-stage companies (seed and start-up), companies looking for growth financing and investors. A well considered and healthy variety of sectors has helped the fund to resist to the capricious evolutions in the market over the last 2 years, especially compared to colleagues, keeping a large potential in portfolio. These participations will certainly resume the growing trend that is characteristic for CREAFUND NV since its establishment. In the sectors or areas where CREAFUND NV doesn’t dispose of the specific knowledge, the investments are treated through fund-in-fund.

Now the fund is completely invested, CREAFUND’s purpose is to continue the active management of the existing portfolio and to realize for every participation separately the perfect exit at the perfect time. This means that no new participations will be taken by this fund.

Based on the experience of the first fund the idea was put forward to start a second fund, focussing on growth-financing of mature companies (in the capacity of management, organization, financials,…) located at max. 300 km around Brussels representing an innovating product/technology and/or active in sectors that can give opportunities for consolidation as well as on smaller MBO/MBI-operations (Management Buy Out/Management Buy In) for amounts between 1 mio € and 2,5 mio €, that are not interesting for the big (international) players like GIMV, CVC Partners,… The successful basic idea of the first fund would be kept, by the active participation and support of the CREAFUND-network to the participations.

In November 2001 this resulted in the creation of CREAFUND II Comm.VA, with an actual fund size of 26 mio €. Actually the fund counts 55 shareholders of which 40 are also involved in the first fund.
 
At this moment CREAFUND II Comm.VA has 11 participations in ‘portfolio’. The principal investing criteria are stipulated under ‘investment focus’.

Since the end of 2007, CREAFUND II has evolved into a holding company that invests for the long term.