Interview with Ksenia Wójcik-Karasiewicz, President of the Management Board of NCBR Investment Fund

We talk to Ksenia Wójcik-Karasiewicz, President of the Management Board of NCBR Investment Fund, about the difficult role of managing a co-investment fund.

Madam President, what is it like to be the head of a fund making multi-million investments?

Ksenia Wójcik-Karasiewicz: It’s definitely a huge responsibility. All the more so because the funds at our fund’s disposal come from public sources. Before spending every penny, I have to be sure that I am making the right decision, which is not an easy task in the case of companies operating in the growth phase. Fortunately, over these few years of the fund’s operation, we have managed to build a team of professionals who approach their tasks reliably, analyzing every aspect of a potential investment.

How does the NCBR Investment Fund work? What makes it stand out?

As a co-investment fund, we cooperate with carefully verified partners that are being contacted by companies looking for an investor. We are certain that the fully private capital used by our partner funds is invested in a market-oriented and rational manner. It is the partnership funds that are primarily obliged to negotiate on our behalf and maintain pari pass between us, i.e. enter into the investment on exactly the same terms. This allows us not only to reduce the risk of undertaken investments, but also to reduce operating costs. In the case of a public entity such as we are, these are very important factors.

Is it difficult to find a company worth investing in?

There are relatively many startups and innovative SMEs in Poland. However, before any investment, especially in high-risk deep technologies, we must always conduct an in-depth analysis. First of all, we must first understand exactly what the technology proposed by the entrepreneur is. We need to consider its potential. The next step is to look into the future – where the market is going, where the world is going and whether the company we are interested in is able to change something in a given segment. And we come to the most important factor: people. It is estimated that about 60% of the company’s success are the people behind it. If the company’s founders are the world’s best engineers, but they have no vision for its development, the investment often turns out to have little future. We expect the owner of an innovative company to be, in addition to his/hers scientific knowledge, a good manager who has an idea for his/hers company and strives to implement it.

What’s next for NCBR Investment Fund?

As always, we are not slowing down. We are working diligently on new investments. We are also talking to several funds to establish another partnerships. We will inform you about the results of our activities in the near future.