Munich — The Euro­pean Invest­ment Bank (EIB) is provi­ding EUR 12 million to the fast-growing Fazua GmbH. The finan­cing is provi­ded under the EU Bank’s venture debt product, a type of venture capi­tal for inno­va­tive compa­nies. The loan is secu­red by a guaran­tee from the “Euro­pean Fund for Stra­te­gic Invest­ments” (EFSI). UVC Part­ners is provi­ding the remai­ning 3 million euros. The VC fund of Unter­neh­mer­TUM was alre­ady invol­ved as lead inves­tor in the last finan­cing round of 6.5 million euros.

FSI is a central compo­nent of the Invest­ment Plan for Europe, better known as the “Juncker Plan”, in which the EIB and the Euro­pean Commis­sion work closely toge­ther as stra­te­gic part­ners to make Europe’s economy more compe­ti­tive. Munich-based Fazua GmbH will use the money to expand the company and for rese­arch and deve­lo­p­ment activities.

The e‑bike market is growing. And that’s what Fazua wants, too. With its detacha­ble drive system for e‑bikes, the Munich-based startup is alre­ady the market leader in some sectors such as bicy­cle racing. In order to open up new markets and to expand its own product range, Fazua is able to raise growth finan­cing of 15 million euros. In addi­tion to legacy inves­tor UVC Part­ners, the startup will also receive money from the Euro­pean Fund EFSI, which is mana­ged by the Euro­pean Invest­ment Bank (EIB). This fund, which totals 21 billion euros, is inten­ded, among other things, to support compa­nies in the start-up phase, growth and expan­sion by provi­ding venture capital.

Consis­tent and profi­ta­ble growth
Fabian Reuter, CEO of Fazua, is deligh­ted with the success.

Foun­ded in 2013, the young company manu­fac­tures extre­mely light­weight eBike drive systems that are fitted with the motor and battery in the down tube of the bikes. With its drive systems aimed prima­rily at sporty riders who want to expe­ri­ence optio­nal assis­tance, espe­ci­ally at special moments, Fazua closes the gap between conven­tio­nal eBike drives and conven­tio­nal non-moto­ri­zed bikes. Since ente­ring the market, Fazua has built up a custo­mer base that now includes more than 35 Euro­pean manu­fac­tu­r­ers offe­ring bikes in the “eMoun­tain­bike”, “eUrban”, “eGra­vel” and “eRace­bike” segments, where Fazua holds a leading market position.