Last year Estonian venture capital firms joined forces by founding the Estonian Ventur Capital Association (EstVCA). Who are the players on the market today?

Here’s a short overview which shows that:

• the Estonian venture capital market is expanding, VC culture is developing
• there are several new investors who have transferred from the field of real estate and are now looking for potential growth companies in the Baltic and eastern European countries
• there are no women as VC’s in Estonia, all men
• some of the VC’s are yet to set their pipelines and ways, they have made no significant investments yet
• money is no problem in Estonia, instead there’s lack of ideas and projects

So who are the Estonian VC’s?

Ambient Sound Investments is the investment firm of Toivo Annus, Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn (three of them pictured, photo by Joi Ito), the co-founders of Skype and today’s business angels. Their firm actively searches for early-stage technology firms with excellent growth potential that operate anywhere in the world.

The firm’s portfolio includes several Estonian businesses – such as MarkIT, United Dogs & Cats, Evikon, Oskando, Celecure etc – as well as Asian and American companies. There have been no new investments in Estonia in recent years, but the company has been active in China and the UK.

Askembla Asset Management is a Swedish private equity firm that invests in growth companies in Central and Eastern Europe. Their portfolio includes such well-known Estonian companies like Tallegg, Aeroc, Microlink, Eesti Eine, Sportland, and more.

In 14 years Askembla has invested more than one hundred million euros (1.5 billion EEK) in the Baltic countries. Presently, the firm is establishing the new Askembla III fund for attractive investments in the Baltic region in the next few years. One of the firm’s key investors is partner Hanno Riismaa.

Astrec Invest is an investment firm founded last year by business angel and former racing driver Marek Kiisa. The firm focuses on investment projects in telecommunications and the media.

To date, the firm has invested in industrial and media firms. Last year Kiisa and his partners purchased the Baltic car portals Motors24 from Alma Media, the Finnish media tycoon.

BaltCap, which has been operating since 1995, is one of the oldest venture capital and private equity investors in the Baltic countries. It provides private equity funding for growth companies.

So far, it has made 38 investments and has exited 24 of the investments. In Estonia, the more well-known investments have been into Quattromed HTI, Tallinna Pesumaja, Neoqi and the e-school project. Investment  banker Peeter Saks is a key partner in the company.

Cresco is an investment banking and venture capital firm established in 1995 and owned by Tõnu Laak and Olev Schults. The firm funds companies operating in fast-growing sectors in Estonia and the other Baltic countries. Cresco’s most well-known investment has been in Estonian Air and the firm prefers not to exit the investment.

The Estonian Development Fund is a national venture capital fund that monitors development and invests in seed-stage and start-up stage Estonian companies with global growth potential.

The organisation’s mission is to develop the Estonian venture capital market; therefore, investments are always made jointly with co-investors. So far, the fund has invested in six projects, with one of the more promising companies in the portfolio being Heikki Haldre’s company Massi Miliano (Fits.me), which is developing a virtual fitting room.

Hanseatic Capital Estonia is one of the few Estonian firms providing mezzanine-type (subordinated debt) funding. It focuses on Baltic and Polish growth companies with positive cash flows.

Among others, the firm has funded such well-known companies as Eskaro, Olerex, Väätsa Agro, Ortodontiakeskus and Sunorek. Hanseatic Capital belongs to the Arco Capital investment group, which has headquarters in Puerto Rico!

MTVP is the investment firm of Allan Martinson (pictured). The company prefers leading companies in the fields of technology, media and telecommunications that operate in Russia, the Baltic countries, and Eastern and Central Europe.

For example, the firm has financed the “invasion” of Rate.ee clones in Europe, and has exited the investment in the MTV Baltic music channel.

IPC Investment Group is an investment firm that started with property investments in Romania, and has also funded growth companies in Estonia, the Netherlands and Romania. Several of the early property investments in Romania have now been successfully exited.

The firm (and its local partners) tried to launch an information line service in Romania and are now developing a contemporary carwash chain covering entire Romania. IPC is owned by Indrek Elhi and the Romanian Ciprian Lopata. One of the founders, Peep Aaviksoo, is no longer a partner in the firm.

Pioneer Engineering Group is the firm of Andres Soojärv, Ivo Tahk and Urmas Peiker and is dedicated to marketing outsourced production in the metal-working and mechanical engineering industries. The firm looks for growth companies in which to invest. The company also looks for export customers from Germany, Norway, Sweden and Finland for its members (seven at the moment).

Redgate Capital is an investment banking and asset management firm that focuses on the Baltic countries, Russia and the CIS countries. The key executive in the firm is Veikko Maripuu and the investors are Armin Kõomägi, Indrek Prants and Sven Mansberg, and Ambient Sound Investments.

Unitree Group is an investment firm owned by Aivar Brock and Kaspar Jänes that operates in the Baltic countries and Central and Eastern Europe. Their goal is to help early stage businesses to grow, in order to attract strategic investors. The firm also has business interests in the fields of vehicle auctioning and mystery shopping.

WNB Project is the investment firm of business angels Ivar Siimar and Guido Kundla and has developed from their property development business. The firm invests in technology companies in the early stage. For example, the firm has funded the Goliath Wind, SmartPost and Ilmarine companies, in co-operation with the Estonian Development Fund and other investors. In the past, WNB has also been connected with an online library project for visual advertising, the establishment of a top-class restaurant in Ukraine, and real estate projects in Brazil.

What is EstVCA?

EstVCA, founded in 2009, is the umbrella organisation for Estonian venture capitalists, private equity funds, business angels, and the providers of related support services.

The mission of the association is to vigorously boost the Estonian private equity and venture capital industry and promote a culture of ambitious enterprise, only just emerging in Estonia.

In addition to 15 full members, the organisation has 15 supporting members. The latter include larger law firms and auditing firms, Kredex, NASDAX OMX Tallinn, several incubators and technology parks, and companies connected with Yrjö Ojasaar, Endel Siff, Rainer Nõlvak, and others. The head of EstVCA is Kristjan Kalda.

Membership is open to any legal entity or individual whose primary activity (or a significant part of it) is the professional management of an investment portfolio that includes unlisted companies where it has a direct or indirect holding.

The supporting members may be any private and legal entities who are operating in the field of private equity and venture capital, and who wish to contribute to the development of activities related to private equity and venture capital investments.