Pension fund ABP today announced (link's in Dutch) they added an extra 300 million euro in venture fund INKEF Capital. ABP is founding partner and cornerstone investor of said fund.
Dutch pension fund ABP is one of the largest in the world, with an estimated capital of 350 billion euro. Since 2010 it invested in startups through INKEF. Its portfolio is impressive – to say the least.
This year alone it led investments in EclecticIQ, Nightbalance, Crowdynews, Wercker, and co-invested in G-Therapeutics. With the added 300 million euro, INKEF in total got near 500 million euro from ABP. The fund most of the time invests in healthcare/medtech or ICT (series A). Exceptional startups in other sectors usually will be supported with a seed or late stage investment. The investment in Bloomon could be considered the odd one out.
Pension funds & startups
It was no surprise startup envoy of StartupDelta prince Constantijn van Oranje was at the announcement. His predecessor Neelie Kroes last year famously opted for more money in startups from Dutch pension funds, as they of course hold huge assets.
"Pension funds, with long term investments, can play an important part in strengthening the Dutch economy. ABP, with INKEF, is ahead of the rest. I'd like other institutional investor to play a similar role", Van Oranje said.
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