EU supports IDnow with millions

The online ID start-up IDnow receives 15 million euros from European funding pots. The Munich-based company wants to use the money to boost its research and expand internationally.

The Munich-based start-up IDnow is receiving 15 million euros in venture capital from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The EU's own development bank is distributing the funds via the European Growth Finance Facility (EGFF), a program through which the EIB aims to fill gaps in venture capital financing in the European single market.

IDnow is one of the leading providers of remote video identification and digital signatures. This enables banks, for example, to conclude contracts without violating money laundering regulations. The company intends to invest the money raised primarily in international expansion and its research and development activities. "Covid-19 has significantly boosted demand for digital services and therefore for our 'verification as a service' solution in various industries and regions," said Joe Lichtenberger, CFO of IDnow. European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni also emphasized that digital identification becomes more important the more interactions take place online. "We are investing in a secure online business environment, one of the goals of our digital finance strategy," he said.

The European Growth Finance Facility (EGFF) was launched at the end of 2016. The program was developed by the EIB with the participation of the European Commission and is intended to help bridge the market gap in growth financing. To this end, the EGFF provides risk financing to innovative and high-growth European small and medium-sized enterprises. By the beginning of 2020, 80 contracts for a total of EUR 1.8 billion had been signed under the EFSI program loan "European Growth Finance Facility".