The subject of the public procurement procedure is the acquisition of portfolio management services for the Financial Instrument 'Venture Capital Fund', for the implementation of the Financial Instrument, funded through the North-West Regional Program 2021-2027, CPV 66140000-3 Portfolio management services. The services to be provided by the Fund Administrator are those specific to the activities of an AIFM and are detailed in this participation announcement and further elaborated in the awarding documentation. The purpose of the Financial Instrument 'Venture Capital Fund' (the Fund) is to support SMEs at various stages of development (pre-seed, seed, and/or commercialization), by providing venture capital funding in the form of financial products (equity, quasi-equity, or any of these in combination with capital grants).

Clarifications and additional information can be requested at least 20 days before the deadline for submitting participation applications/candidacies. The Contracting Authority will respond clearly and completely to all requests for clarification/additional information at least 12 days before the deadline for submitting candidacies, through one or more consolidated responses.

LOT-0000
Default lot.
The Contracting Authority intends to acquire the services of a registered or authorized fund manager as an AIFM or who will register as an AIFM (Alternative Investment Fund Manager - 'Fund Manager') according to Directive 2011/61/EU (AIFMD), for the implementation of the Financial Instrument called 'Venture Capital Fund', financed through the North-West Regional Program 2021-2027. The winning bidder (the Fund Manager) will provide the services and carry out the activities stated below and in the procurement contract, which will be performed in accordance with the provisions of the procurement contract and the relevant Applicable Standards, as follows:
• Preparation and implementation of necessary actions for the establishment of the Fund (AIF) with Venture Capital, in a jurisdiction of their choice within an EU member state according to the Applicable Law (including, the Applicable Law for AIF), which will make investments through Financial Products in eligible Final Recipients from the North-West Region of Romania;
• Administration and management of the investment portfolio of the established Fund, as well as the risks associated with the investment portfolio, in accordance with the procurement contract, the Founding Documents of the Fund and the applicable legislation (including Directive 2011/61/EU);
• Attracting Capital Commitments from Independent Private Investors at the Fund level and/or Co-investments at the Final Recipients level through co-investment schemes, depending on the nature of the Bidder's proposal;
• Identifying eligible Final Recipients and eligible Investments, and assessing the compliance with eligibility requirements by the Final Recipients and eligible Investments, including by conducting analyses regarding the permissible purpose of the funding/investment, the potential economic viability of the Investment, etc., according to the provisions of the procurement contract;
• Structuring, negotiating, and executing eligible Fund Investments in Final Recipients, in accordance with the investment strategy, the business plan attached to the procurement contract;
• Monitoring and evaluating the periodic performance (corresponding to reporting periods) of the Companies in the Fund's portfolio where Investments in Financial Products have been made, establishing and monitoring the achievement of results and key indicators, including providing assistance and managerial support to Final Recipients regarding their business growth strategy to maximize their profits, undertaking Follow-On Investments (if applicable), managing underperforming Investments, etc.;
• Finalizing Investments according to the Investment Strategy, the Exit strategy, and the business plan attached to the procurement contract;
• Ensuring relevant distributions to the Fund Investors;
• Organizing the liquidation of the Fund after the expiration of its duration or termination for other reasons of the procurement contract, respecting the diligence specified by Directive 2011/61/EU and the applicable legislation for AIFM and AIF, in accordance with the provisions stipulated in the procurement contract.
• Any other services arising from the necessity for the Fund Administrator to fulfill its duties and responsibilities arising from the procurement contract and applicable legislation (including those from Directive 2011/61/EU).
The awarded Bidder following the awarding procedure, after signing the procurement contract, will be responsible for submitting a financing request, in the MySMIS2021/SMIS2021+ IT system, within the call for projects 131 E Innovative productive investments for SMEs - financial instruments, which will be launched by the Management Authority for the North-West Regional Program 2021-2027, under the conditions of accessing the funds and complying with the requirements set out in the funding applicant guide for the Financial Instrument 'Venture Capital Fund', according to the MySMIS/SMIS2021+ Funding Application Completion Instruction, in Annex 16 of the procurement contract. After the approval of the financing request through MySMIS2021/SMIS2021+, the Contracting Authority will upload in MySMIS2021/SMIS2021+ the signed procurement contract with the winning Bidder (which includes all elements of the financing agreement mentioned in Regulation (EU) No. 2021/1060, including Annex X of this Regulation), based on which the ADR NV will commit resources from the NV 2021-2027 Regional Program for the implementation of the Financial Instrument. Thus, the obligation of the Contracting Authority to make any Capital Commitments within the Fund will be conditional on the signing of the procurement contract and the fulfillment of the preconditions mentioned in Clause 3.3, points (i) and (viii) of the procurement contract, respectively: (i) submission of a financing request through the MySMIS2021/SMIS2021+ IT system and compliance with the conditions stated in the applicant guide for the applicable non-competitive project call; and (ii) execution of the first Closing of the Fund, which will be executed by the Fund Manager within the timeline mentioned in the procurement contract.