Companies in Central and Eastern Europe are the most dynamic segment of the investments of "Seedcamp", the largest microinvestment fund in Europe, specializing on funding online businesses, said Carlos Eduardo Espinal, a partner in the fund. The region had a high potential in launching businesses which use new technologies, due to the high number of talented engineers it has, he explained.

Entrepreneurs in whose businesses "Seedcamp" chooses to invest are intelligent and brave, and come up with ambitious, but realistic projects, by which they are looking to penetrate major markets, according to Carlos Eduardo Espinal. The fund offers a standard financing of 50,000 Euros, plus an additional 150,000 Euros, in expense-reduction facilities, for a stake of at most 10% of the business. The exits made so far have exceeded 60 million Euros.

Carlos Eduardo Espinal granted us an interview, on the occasion of the "Startup Weekend Romania" event, which he attended as a speaker and mentor for young entrepreneurs in Romania and abroad.

Reporter: How did "Seedcamp" appear?

Carlos Eduardo Espinal: "Seedcamp" appeared because there was a need for a platform which would help entrepreneurs build businesses in Europe. The purpose of this platform was to provide the necessary funding for launching businesses, advice for managers, so that they don't make fatal mistakes, as well as a network of contacts which would help them grow their businesses. Therefore, "Seedcamp" was created to fill a void which existed in Europe before 2007, the year of its appearance.

Reporter: Specifically, how do you operate?

Carlos Eduardo Espinal: We host monthly events, called "Seedcamp Days", where companies from all over the world apply, to be admitted as part of our program. We have about 2,000 applicants each year. Out of them, we select 20 each month, which we gat