VC FundPuts its own capital into companiesLAST VERIFIED Oct 2026 · 11 SOURCES

OPES Italia

Incubated and launched by Fondazione OPES-LCEF

Also known as Opes Italia SICAF EuVECA, Opes Italia SICAF EuVECA S.p.A., OPES Impact SGR, OPES Italia II

Milan impact VC: a €35.5M self-managed EuVECA SICAF (2020) launched by Fondazione OPES-LCEF, investing in Italian early-stage startups with a gender lens; backed by the EIF and CDP Venture Capital.

Not to be confused with OPES Italia, the Italian sports promotion body (opesitalia.it).

HEADQUARTERS: Milan, Italy
FOUNDED: 2020
AUM: €35.5M (2020)
OUTSIDE CAPITAL: Yes
TEAM LISTED: 7 people

Focus

STAGES: SeedSeries A
SECTORS: Education Software & SaaS
ASSET MIX: Venture capitalImpact
GEOGRAPHY: Italy

Overview

Opes Italia SICAF EuVECA S.p.A. is a self-managed fixed-capital investment company registered with Banca d’Italia, incubated and launched in 2020 by Fondazione OPES-LCEF as a €35.5M impact fund. It invests in Italian early-stage companies that have validated a scalable product and address access to services, the digital divide, youth unemployment, marginalisation of vulnerable groups and educational poverty, applying a gender lens across the investment cycle. A successor manager, OPES Impact SGR Società Benefit, has been set up to apply for authorisation as a sub-threshold EuVECA manager and continue the activity, and is recruiting a Junior Partner for a second fund, OPES Italia II.

Investment thesis

Sector-agnostic, technology as enabler: backs startups that reduce the frictions behind exclusion through three levers (capability, access, agency), with impact integrated in the business model; pre-seed only exceptionally.

PORTFOLIO (10)

Develhope
Education
Develop Players
Family+Happy
Freedome
Lifeed
Education
Radical Storage
Scuole Manfredini
Education
The Circle
VivaVoce
Zolle
Food & Agriculture

People

Elena Casolari
Chief Executive Officer (Amministratore Delegato) · source
Stefano Magnoni
Chairman of the Board · source
Patrick Landi
Partner · source
Ignazio Ludovisi Boncompagni
Partner · source
Sonia Bergamini
Head of Operations · source
Alejandro Sánchez Ibarra
Impact Investment Associate · source
Simona Suriano
Financial Analyst · source

Frequently asked questions

OPES Italia is a VC fund based in Milan, Italy, founded in 2020.

Yes. OPES Italia invests its own capital in private companies.

OPES Italia invests at Seed and Series A stages in Education and Software & SaaS.

Key people at OPES Italia include Elena Casolari (Chief Executive Officer (Amministratore Delegato)), Stefano Magnoni (Chairman of the Board), Patrick Landi (Partner) and Ignazio Ludovisi Boncompagni (Partner).

OPES Italia's investments include Develhope, Develop Players, Family+Happy, Freedome, Lifeed, Radical Storage, Scuole Manfredini and The Circle, among others.

Yes. OPES Italia manages capital from outside investors.