The Basque Government currently promotes venture capital activity through a company called GESTIÓN DE CAPITAL RIESGO DEL PAIS VASCO, S.A., set up in 1985 to attract money for subsequent investment in small and medium enterprises through minority holdings in their capital.

Formed by Basque regional development agency SPRI and the local Basque savings banks (also with interests in the Ezten venture capital fund), GESTIÓN DE CAPITAL RIESGO DEL PAIS VASCO, S.A. carries on four basic activities, which are attracting funds, detecting investment opportunities in venture capital, controlling and monitoring investee firms and controlling the assets of the entities it manages. The EZTEN venture capital fund has holdings in 52 firms, most of them SME working in industry.

In early 2001, Basque regional development agency SPRI created the Elkano XXI and Suztapen funds to accompany EZTEN. The former is a fund oriented towards investments in leading-edge technology businesses and the latter for consolidated or developing enterprises. SPRI also has interests in MCC Desarrollo, which takes holdings in cooperatives and companies linked to the Mondragón Cooperative Corporation group. The fund's financial contributions to new projects can account for up to 30% of the capital and 0.24 million € in investment.

GESTIÓN DE CAPITAL RIESGO DEL PAIS VASCO, S.A. apart, there are a number of other development or venture capital firms in the Basque Country, including SEED Capital, HAZIBIDE and TALDE.

SEED CAPITAL is part of the Community Seed Capital Promotion Fund programme implemented by the European Community and involves, among others, the Bizkaia Provincial Council, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco de Santander and local Basque savings banks BBK and Caja Laboral. SC is present in 30 firms through investments that can account for as much as 45% of the capital but which may in no case exceed 0.27 million €. The usual beneficiaries are firms in the start-up phase.

Promoted by the Alava Provincial Council, the Vitoria City Council, Basque venture capital pioneers Talde and Basque savings bank Caja Vital, HAZIBIDE is a fund that provides financial support of up to 0.06 million € to business projects. An advisory team from Zubizarreta Consulting is also made available to the firm to supervise the project.

Founded in 1970, TALDE comprises industrial and financial partners including Basque-based power company Iberdrola, the Basque savings banks, Spanish organisation for the blind ONCE and healthcare fund Elkarkidetza. To date, Talde has taken interests in more than 120 companies, has worked on more than 500 consultancy projects and provided more than 63.11 million € for the development of such projects.