European Commission and EIB Group launch Investors Pact to boost investment in tech scale-ups

Brussels- 23 Spetember -EBM Newsdesk Analysis- Anthiny Gill 

The European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group launched today the European Institutional Investors Pact (EIIP) at the TechEU Equity Summit. 

The Pact is a new voluntary framework designed to channel more long-term institutional capital into Europe’s technology and scale-up ecosystem. Thirteen institutional investors have already expressed their intention to channel investments into Europe’s innovation and scale-up ecosystem, including through the €15 billion European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) 2.0 and the €5 billion Scaleup Europe Fund.

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “Talent, ideas and ambition – Europe has all of these. Now we are making sure our innovative companies can grow, scale and lead on the global stage – from Europe. By bringing together public and private partners, the goal is to unlock long-term capital for our technology. This is about turning European innovation into European industrial and economic strength.”

The EIIP has been developed jointly by the European Commission and the EIB Group under the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy.

To support investors, the Pact includes two complementary elements:

• A Policy Dialogue Forum: led by the Commission, this forum will enable exchanges with institutional investors on regulatory policy developments, as well as EU investment policies.
• An Investment Platform: led by the EIB Group, this platform will help investors access to investment opportunities across Europe’s venture capital and growth equity ecosystem, through sharing of investment pipelines, market intelligence, peer exchange and ecosystem insights helping investors identify opportunities. It will be developed in close cooperation with Member States and aligned with relevant national initiatives, aiming at facilitating engagement and providing pathways linked to exit.

It aims to make it easier for institutional investors to invest in European venture capital and growth equity funds, helping high-growth European companies access the capital they need to scale up and compete globally while remaining rooted in Europe.        

It forms part of the broader EU effort to unlock more institutional capital, from investors such as banks, pension funds and insurance companies, for European technology and innovation, addressing one of the key funding challenges identified in Europe’s competitiveness agenda.

Nadia Calviño, President of the EIB Group said: “Our goal is clear: to provide Europe’s institutional investors with a single, credible entry point into innovation financing. In today’s world, this partnership between EU institutions and the private sector sends a powerful message of European unity, ambition and determination.”

The 13 institutional investors ready to join the EIIP have expressed their intent in investing in large EU-based funds focused on later-stage and growth equity financing for European technology companies. These include the European Tech Champions Initiative 2.0, the Scaleup Europe Fund, the European Investment Fund-backed funds supported under InvestEU, and other investment strategies targeting the scale-up phase of venture and growth capital.

Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation said ” Europe has the talent, the research base and the entrepreneurial ambition to lead in strategic technologies. What many companies still lack is access to sufficient late-stage capital. With the European Institutional Investors Pact, we are helping connect Europe’s deep pools of long-term capital with its most promising innovators so they can scale up and stay in Europe.”

Karl Nehammer, Vice-President of the EIB said “Leading investors recognise both the need and the opportunity to strengthen Europe’s innovation financing ecosystem and support companies as they grow. Through the EIIP, investors, the European Commission, the EIB Group and Member States can work together within a common framework to help develop deeper venture and growth capital markets across Europe.”

Marjut Falkstedt, Chief Executive of the EIF said “This first milestone demonstrates growing momentum among institutional investors and reflects the strong complementarity between the EIB Group and the European Commission in mobilising capital for Europe’s future tech champions. Our priority is now to connect investors with credible pathways into Europe’s innovation economy. The Investment Platform will help translate that interest into long-term investment activity.”