Basque government launches €50M fund for industrial SMEs, backs first company
What's the deal? The Basque government has launched EztenDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → II, a €50 million venture capital fund aimed at strengthening the size, competitiveness, and growth of small and medium-sized industrial companies. The fund targets unlisted firms with high growth potential and will be managed by Gestión de Capital Riesgo del País VascoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, part of the SPRI groupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Who's funding it? The full €50 million comes from IndartuzDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a company controlled by the Instituto Vasco de FinanzasDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (IVF), the regional government's financial arm for channelling public investment into strategic projects.
What's changed? Unlike the original Ezten, which since 1988 financed early-stage tech startups, the new fund shifts focus to established industrial SMEs. It aims to support their growth and play a role in business succession, helping family-owned companies continue operating.
Why now? Investments will target sectors aligned with the Plan Industrial-Euskadi 2030, the Basque government's roadmap to mobilise up to €16 billion in public and private investment. Geopolitical tensions, rising international competition, and Europe's push for strategic autonomy have moved industrial resilience up the region's economic agenda.
First investment: Ezten IIDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has already backed Walter PackDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Vizcaya company founded in 1992 in Igorre that makes decorative and functional plastic parts for automotive, healthcare, and industrial clients. The firm expects to double its business and top €100 million in revenue by 2029.
Ezten II will contribute €1.5 million to Walter Pack's financing round, with Seed Capital BizkaiaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the venture arm of the Vizcaya provincial council, adding another €1 million.
The signal: The fund marks a pivot in Basque public venture capital — away from early-stage tech bets and toward shoring up the industrial base that underpins the region's economy. As Europe races to protect strategic manufacturing, regional governments are increasingly deploying public money to keep mid-sized industrial firms growing at home.
Read more: Acermetal
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
