Switzerland supports start-ups and establishes Swiss innovation fund
The Federal Council wants to further strengthen the Swiss startup ecosystem and has decided to establish a fund open to all sectors to finance in particular the growth phase and in the areas of decarbonization and digitalization. A first operational draft will be developed by early 2023.
The goal is to ensure that in the medium and long term Switzerland remains among the most productive, competitive and innovative economic centers in the world and can stably secure jobs, value creation and fiscal substrate. Having overcome the pandemic-related crisis, the Federal Council has been studying various ways to achieve the above goals.
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In August 2021, therefore, the Executive had commissioned DEFR to thoroughly evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of an innovation fund. It was studied how much such a fund could contribute to the expansion of the venture capital market, resulting in improved growth opportunities for innovative companies in Switzerland.
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Currently, Swiss start-ups, receive more financial capital from American investors than from domestic capital providers.
Studies have shown that an innovation fund can help mature the market and strengthen its resilience, thereby improving the attractiveness of Switzerland as a business location. Such a fund would also help compensate for the demise of individual European framework program instruments.
From January 1, 2022, pension funds can also invest in start-ups.
This new innovation policy tool will enable the long-term strengthening of the Swiss innovation ecosystem and complement existing promotion tools, particularly those of Innosuisse. The Federal Council intends to emphasize the scale-up phase, decarbonization, and digitization.
By the end of January 2023, the DEFR will submit a first operational draft and possible funding variants to the Federal Council.
Source: https://www.admin.ch