A VENTURE capital unit aimed at identifying global maritime investment opportunities and financing startups has been announced by the Schulte Group.
The unit is called has launched INNOPORT and is to have bases in Singapore, Hamburg and Cyprus, with BSM director of strategy and product development Yiannis Sykas taking charge.
“At INNOPORT, we want to build bridges and open doors wherever possible,” Mr Sykas said.
“In essence, INNOPORT provides startups with the right network and the right capital, to scale up their business and to bring their ideas into fruition.”
INNOPORT is expected to support early-stage maritime and logistics startups mostly in Europe and Asia.
INNPORT investment manager for Asia Haymon Sinapius said INNOPORT was founded to support early-stage ventures, typically pre-revenue companies at the idea or prototype stage.
“We invest in breakthrough technology and disruptive business models that address a real pain and have the potential to define new standards in their respective industries,” Mr Sinapius.
“We want to see founders, who actively challenge the status quo of how the maritime industry works, to make it better, safer and more efficient.”
INNOPORT investment manager for Europe Niklas Koerner said they wanted to differentiate themselves from conventional venture capitalists.
“Typically, venture capital funds operate on a broader investment remit and they often lack intimate knowledge of the industries,” Mr Koerner said.
“At INNOPORT, we see ourselves as a provider of capital with industry domain knowledge coupled with access to the right people within our Organisation and our network to support the portfolio companies we invest in.”
