Three banks have joined Innovate Poland, the government-backed program hat pools public and institutional money and invests it through private equity, private debt and venture capital funds. Erste Group, Bank Pekao and PKO Bank Polski are putting a combined €116 million (PLN 500M) into Innovate PL FoF, the programme's fund of funds managed by PFR Ventures.
With Erste on board, foreign capital joined the program for the first time. Erste is participating through both Erste Group and its Polish subsidiary, Erste Bank Polska, which joined the group in January 2026.
The banks join the fund's existing backers: the Polish Development Fund (PFR), state development bank BGK and insurer PZU. Their commitment brings the capital raised by Innovate PL FoF to nearly €700 million (PLN 3B) and lifts the total budget of Innovate Poland to around €1.05 billion (PLN 4.5B). PFR Ventures expects the banks' €116 million to mobilize about €230 million (PLN 1B) including private co-investors.
The banks will be represented on Innovate Committee as members or observers, giving them insight into fund allocations and access to reports on the companies backed by those funds. That gives them a view of which funds receive money and access to reports on the companies those funds back.
,,The addition of three major banks marks a turning point for the programe and sends a strong signal to the market."
— said Mikołaj Raczyński, CEO of PFR.
Szymon Midera, CEO of PKO Bank Polski, commented young companies often need capital that falls outside what a bank can offer through loans. ‘Innovate Poland helps fill this gap,’ he said, adding that the bank may later finance the same companies as clients once they grow.
The first six funds
Alongside the new investors, PFR Ventures announced the first six fund managers accredited by Innovate PL FoF. The accreditation makes them eligible to apply for funding from the programme. They include Avallon, Innova and MidEuropa Partners (private equity), AMC (private debt), and Cogito Capital Partners and Inovo.vc (venture capital).
The six funds are set to receive €116 million (PLN 500M) from the fund of funds, with additional capital expected from private co-investors. According to PFR Ventures, every zloty committed by the program currently attracts another three zlotys of private investment.
The investment strategy puts 60% of the portfolio into private equity funds, with private debt and venture capital getting 20% each. The accredited managers have previously backed companies such as cosmetics brand Inglot, robotics startup Nomagic and drinks maker OSHEE. With earlier PFR Ventures capital, they have also invested in Booksy, Applica.ai, CloudFerro, Bielenda, Diagnostyka, Ingenix, Velvet and Victor.
More funds are in the pipeline. PFR Ventures is reviewing another 40 applications and is in talks with institutions interested in joining as investors.
,,We rate the quality of the proposals submitted highly, but remain selective," said Rozalia Urbanek, CEO of PFR Ventures. Fund managers can still apply for accreditation.
How Innovate Poland works
Finance Minister Andrzej Domański announced Innovate Poland in November 2025, modelling it on France's Tibi Initiative, which pushed French institutional investors into domestic VC and growth funds.
According to PFR Ventures, Poland is the third EU country to set up a program of this kind. The minister has said he expects it to unlock €2.3 – 4.7B (PLN 10–20B) in new investment over time.
The program has two parts. Innovate PL FoF (around €700 million) is open to new investors and backs private equity, private debt and VC funds. Future Tech Poland (around €350 million) combines money from the European Investment Fund and BGK and invests only in venture capital funds. Its portfolio so far includes Balnord, Cogito Capital Partners, Expeditions and Inovo.vc, which brings bringing the total number of named fund managers across the two programs to eight.
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