Dutch-based InnovationQuarter expands its IQCapital fund by €63.6M to back South Holland scaleups & startups

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Netherlands-based InnovationQuarter, the regional development agency for South Holland, announced that its fund, IQCapital, will be expanded with €63.6M to a total size of €140M. 

The €63.6M fund increase came through equal contributions from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Change, and the other shareholders of InnovationQuarter.

In September 2020, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Change said that it wanted to strengthen the funding capacity of the regional development corporations in the Netherlands with €150M on the condition that there will be an equal contribution by co-shareholders.

How will the funds be utilised?

With the capital, IQCapital wants to accelerate the growth of Zuid-Holland scale-ups and startups, invest early in deep-tech and high-tech propositions, and further strengthen the investment climate.

Liduina Hammer, head of Investments at InnovationQuarter, says, “Groundbreaking technologies provide the solutions to our societal challenges. Those technologies require money, patience, and collaboration. And that’s exactly what we can offer. Our shareholders have also felt that urgency and have given us their trust. We are extremely grateful for that.”

“With this additional fund capital we can help more scale-ups and startups to the next phase and invest even more in deep tech and high-tech propositions. We will not do this alone, but together with our companies, co-investors and shareholders. Because making an impact is something you do together,” says Hammer.

Delegate and Deputy in the province of South Holland, Meindert Stolk, adds, “In recent years, together with our partners, we have carefully built a successful ecosystem for innovative entrepreneurs in South Holland. With this, we can make a difference on major issues such as the energy transition, circular economy and digitalisation. By contributing almost €15M extra to IQCapital as a province, we are making this possible.”

Invest and innovate

Founded in 2014, InnovationQuarter is the regional economic development agency for the Province of Zuid-Holland, also known as the greater Rotterdam – The Hague area. 

The company says, “Our mission is to strengthen the regional economic structure by stimulating the innovation potential of this unique delta region. In close collaboration with all major corporations and many SMEs, educational and research institutes as well as government organisations, we align the efforts required to design a brighter tomorrow.” 

InnovationQuarter provides companies with financing in different phases of growth. It invests from four funds – IQCapital, UNIIQ, ENERGIIQ, and the Energy Transition Fund.

  • IQCapital is a fund with €140M in capital for investments in innovative companies, from startups to scale-ups and mature SMEs in South Holland
  • UNIIQ is a proof-of-concept fund of €22M set up by Erasmus MC, TU Delft, Leiden University, and InnovationQuarter to bridge the riskiest phase from concept to promising company
  • ENERGIIQ is a fund for financing the commercialisation of proven energy innovations that lead to CO2 reduction. The €35M fund comes from the Province of South Holland
  • The Energy Transition Fund has €30M available for loans to VvEs, private individuals and SMEs, as well as €100M for sustainable investments by scale-ups and large companies, with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions and the use of raw materials and improving air quality

Recent investments

InnovationQuarter claims to be the most active investor in South Holland. Its fund IQCapital has made over 90 investments in more than 50 companies since its inception in 2014. In total over €70M was invested in these companies to date. 

Most capital was invested in the Life Sciences (33 per cent), Digital Technology (24 per cent) and Hightech (20 per cent) sectors. Investments made in other sectors in South Holland include Energy, Circular, Aerospace, Maritime, Horticulture, and Cybersecurity.

Over 80 different co-investors have already invested approximately €230M in the portfolio companies of IQCapital.

For example, using investments from InnovationQuarter, hundreds of billions of heart muscle cells have already been grown from stem cells (Ncardia, Leiden), one million plastic packaging units have been saved (Pieter Pot, Rotterdam) and 25 million digital systems have been protected from hacking (Cybersprint, The Hague).

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Vishal Singh

Vishal Singh is a News Reporter and Social Media Marketing Lead at Silicon Canals. He covers developments in the European startup ecosystem and oversees the publication's social media presence. Before joining Silicon Canals, Vishal gained experience at the Indian digital media outlet Inc42, contributing to its growth with insightful content. Despite being a college dropout, his passion for writing has driven his career in journalism.

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