Catalyst Romania invests €1 M in Marketizator, the leading Conversion Optimization platform in the SEE region
Catalyst Romania, the leading private equity growth and venture capital fund dedicated to Romania, which supports SMEs in Technology-Media-Telecom (TMT) sector invests 1 million Euro in Romanian Technology Start-up Marketizator, which is specialized in conversion rate optimization (CRO).
One of the most dynamic CRO businesses globally, Marketizator has achieved 400% annual revenue growth rate providing services for more than 7000 clients worldwide including client like Forbes, OLX, Orange, Provident, Samsung, Telekom and many others. Marketizator helps its clients identify and capitalize on the factors that determine conversion rate growth on their websites. Its CRO platform facilitates the understanding of visitors with the help of surveys, improves website performance with A/B testing and enables personalized popup interactions, all without IT support.
“Marketizator has real Global Challenger potential and already generates sizeable revenues on an international scale, thanks to its innovative platform that provides all needed CRO services. Now with our investment and help we see very strong further growth potential globally especially in markets like Brazil, Japan, United States and Russia” commented Marius Ghenea, Investment Director of 3TS Catalyst Romania.
“The solutions we are integrating in our CRO platform, provide our clients a wide range of functionality to further grow the sales efficiency of their websites. Catalyst Romania’s financing confirms both the performance and the potential of Marketizator and supports our plans for new solutions and expansion of our global presence” stated Valentin Radu, Founder CEO of Marketizator.
Catalyst Romania is the first Romanian private equity and venture capital fund mainly funded by the European Investment Fund (EIF), through the JEREMIE initiative, as part of the Sectorial Operational Programme “Increase of Economic Competitiveness” 2007-2013, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Catalyst Romania supports local SMEs from the Technology, Media and Telecom sector, with investments in the range of 200.000 Euro up to 2.000.000 Euro. Together with EIF as the largest contributor of Catalyst, there are also other investors in the fund : BT Asset Management (BTAM), a company member of Banca Transilvania, 3TS Capital Partners and some other private investors. The Fund is managed by 3TS Capital Partners, one of the leading European tech growth capital investors.
Marketizator marks Catalyst Fund’s 9th investment in Romania. Previous investments of Catalyst Romania included technology companies such as SmartBill, VectorWatch, http://www.avocatnet.ro/, Simartis Telecom, http://www.elefant.ro/, Green Horse Games, http://www.vola.ro/ and 123ContactForm.
About Marketizator
Marketizator is a technology start-up, founded in 2013 by Valentin Radu, CEO of the company, with the purpose of allowing marketing specialists to test the optimisation options without any IT support. Marketizator has won many awards confirming its innovative solution: StartUp Rally, Webstock Awards, Which Test Won, Euro Cloud, G2Crowd. The company currently has partner offices in Netherlands, Italy and Poland and aims to extend its presence globally.
For more information visit http://www.marketizator.com/
About 3TS Capital Partners
3TS Capital Partners is one of the leading European technology focused private equity and venture capital firms. 3TS provides expansion capital and buyout funding for small and medium-sized businesses in growth sectors including Technology & Internet, Media & Communications and Technology-Enabled Services. Investors in the current and past 3TS funds totaling over €300 million include EIF, EBRD, Cisco, OTP, Sitra, 3i and KfW among others.
For further information, please visit http://www.3tscapital.com/
About JEREMIE
JEREMIE (“Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises” or “Joint European Resources for Micro to medium Enterprises in”) is a joint initiative of the Directorate-General for Regional Policy of the European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group (which includes European Investment Fund), which aims to improve access to finance for SMEs in the European Union. In Romania, the JEREMIE Holding Fund is financed by the European Regional Development Fund in the Sectoral Operational Programme “Increase of Economic Competitiveness”, Priority Axis 1 “An innovative and eco-efficient production” – Key Area of Intervention 1.2. “Access to finance for SMEs”. In Romania, apart from private equity, the JEREMIE initiative has so far supported almost EUR 200m in new SME loans through the guarantee facility implemented through three local banks and has recently launched a funded risk sharing instrument operated with four Romanian banks.
About EIF
The main mission of the European Investment Fund’s (EIF) , part of the European Investment Bank, is to support Europe’s micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. To do so, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment. EIF’s total net commitments to private equity funds amounted to over EUR 8.8 bn at end 2014. With investments in over 500 funds, EIF is a leading player in European venture due to the scale and the scope of its investments, especially in high-tech and early-stage segments. EIF’s guarantees loan portfolio totaled over EUR 5.6bn at end of 2014, positioning it as a major European SME guarantees actor and a leading micro-finance guarantor.
For more information about EIF, check www.eif.org
