European Investment Bank

To be honest, I had written stuff before 2019, but to other foundations.

In 2017, as example, we got a project through with the European Investment Bank.

That was me writing that and pitching and such.

We also got a project through in 2017 with the Cartier Women's Initiative, which is for female founders.

Now we have to get back to that.

What role do European institutions have, like the European Space Agency, the European Investment Bank, the European Commission? What role do these institutions have in helping you build a company like this?

You know, our approach is quite industrial, so we don't need like super complex policy.

We just need, in my opinion, I always ask for the same and it's not yet, let me say, arrived, that our contracts, you know, so I think the best way to support us and to support Europe and all the European taxpayers is just to put contracts in place.

So I think they are doing progresses.

So I am optimistic, let me say.

So someday we will receive those those contracts and for example that loan that we closed with the European Investment Bank it's key for us because of that European support in terms of funding but it's just a loan so we need to repay that it's a super expensive loan so we are happy we need that loans for sure and this is this is this is quite historical because there there is no huge support from institutional European let me say from the European Commission agencies to a company like us you know we just receive our national support sometimes through the European Space Agency and sometimes directly from national contract but from the very European institutions they are also let me say ramping up slowly with let me say betting on that And they need us, you know, so we need to launch our satellites into orbit.

You mentioned the geopolitical situation.

So that's the risk.

All right, so, okay, switching a little bit gear, let's talk about Tensive, biotech startup raising 20 million in a convertible loan from the European Investment Bank.

So Tensive is an Italian biotech startup developing essentially biomaterials.

for different applications, so without going into the precise product.

So on the one hand, they are setting up, say, additional public/private funding opportunities that you could qualify for in certain conditions.

So there's, for example, a $10 billion fund being set up in collaboration with the European Investment Bank.

In addition to that, there's also additional funding available for what they call strategic projects.

So this is a concept that was first introduced in another piece of legislation, the Critical Medicines Act, which is for medicines that are, you know, important to public health and are subject to shortages.