Launchub III (IFC-53051)

Regions
  • Europe and Central Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Greece
  • North Macedonia
  • Romania
  • Serbia
  • Slovenia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Southeastern Europe and Central and Eastern Europe
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Borrower
LAUNCHub Fund III Cooperatief U.A.
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Equity
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 14.06 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 12.5
Converted using 2026-10-01 exchange rate.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 78.74 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 70
Converted using 2026-10-01 exchange rate.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Nov 13, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Oct 1, 2026

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the proposed transaction is an equity investment of up to €12.5 million and a €12.5 million co-investment envelope in LAUNCHub Fund III Cooperatief U.A. (“Fund” or “Launchub III”). The Fund is a closed-end, venture capital fund with a target size of €70 million. The Fund focuses on early-stage equity investments (pre-seed and seed) in technology-forward, AI-enabled solutions companies in Southeastern Europe (“SEE”) and Central and Eastern Europe (“CEE”) looking to expand globally.

The Fund will invest primarily in Southeast Europe, including Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia, Greece, Croatia and North Macedonia, with allocations to other CEE markets. 

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The project aims to support non-manufacturing early-stage technology companies (DeepTech & AI, SaaS, HealthTech and Climate Tech) across South Eastern Europe (SEE) and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The E&S risks associated with the Fund’s investment activities are considered to be low/medium and can be readily addressed through mitigation measures. The E&S risks associated with the fund’s portfolios may typically include occupational health and safety, labor and working conditions (including those associated with the gig economy), and waste management, among others.
As such, the Project has been categorized as FI-2 according to IFC’s Sustainability Policy. The Fund will not invest in any coal related activities, the IFC Exclusion List activities, activities related to production and trade of radioactive materials, and projects exposed to higher E&S risk activities including a) involuntary resettlement, b) risk of adverse impacts on indigenous peoples, c) significant risks to or impacts on the environment, community health and safety, biodiversity, cultural heritage, d) significant occupational health and safety risks (e.g. risk of serious injury or fatality to workers), and/or e) significant retrenchment for employees.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The Project is a proposed IFC commitment of up to €12.5 million into the Fund. Additionally, a co-investment envelope of €12.5 million will be implemented. The Fund is a closed-end, venture capital fund with a target size of €70 million. 

Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Launchub III will be managed by LAUNCHub Fund III Management B.V. (“Fund Manager” or “Launchub”), an appointed alternative investment fund manager (“AIFM”),. The Fund Manager will appoint LAUNCH HUB ADVISORS AD asan advisory company, a third-time appointment. Launchub is managed by six partners, namely Todor Breshkov, Rumen Iliev, Stanislav Sirakov, Irina Dimitrova, Petar Tsachev and Raya Yunakova – all based in Sofia, Bulgaria. 

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - LAUNCHub Parent Company -

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

For Inquiries About the Project, Contact:
LAUNCHub Fund III Cooperatief
Irina Dimitrova, Rumen Iliev
Director, Partners
+359 896 731 317, +359 888 609 626
irina@launchub.com
Bul. Tzar Osvoboditel 21, Sofia 1000, Bulgaria
www.launchub.com

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

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