The Renaissance Group began its operations in Central Europe in 1994. Its roots, however, date back to the late 1950s, when Franklin Pitch Johnson, as one of the forerunners, through his investment activities in the USA, defined a new financial industry called Venture Capital . After the political transformation in Central Europe, a group of experienced businessmen, with Johnson's support, established the European Renaissance Capital Fund, which - together with associated entities - was one of the first to start investment operations in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The year 2000, with the establishment of the second Fund, European Renaissance Capital II, brought further development to the Renaissance Group.