EU supports IDnow with millions

The online ID start-up IDnow is receiving 15 million euros from European funding pools. The Munich-based company wants to use this money to boost its research and expand internationally.

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

IDnow is one of the leading providers of remote video identification and digital signatures. This enables banks, for example, to sign contracts without breaching money laundering regulations. The company intends to invest the money it has raised primarily in international expansion and in 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. Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economic Affairs, also stressed that digital identification becomes more important as more interactions take place online. "We are investing in a secure business environment online, one of the goals of our digital finance strategy," he said.

The European Growth Finance Facility (EGFF) was launched at the end of 2016. It was developed by the EIB with the participation of the European Commission and aims 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 early 2020, 80 contracts for a total of EUR 1.8 billion had been signed under the EFSI programme loan "European Growth Finance Facility".