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Invest-NL - fueling growth in the Netherlands
Where the market hesitates, Invest-NL wants to take the first step.
The Netherlands’ National Promotional Institution has a clear goal: to make the country more sustainable, innovative and resilient.
Founded just six years ago, Invest-NL has taken on the titanic task of facilitating the sustainable and technological transitions happening in the country, Jellie Banga, chief business officer and executive board member at Invest-NL, told European Women in VC.
“When we started off at Invest-NL, as a public investor, you always have to look at where your additionality is in the market. So, we looked at where our financing gaps were,” she said. The organisation’s goal is to plug those financing gaps so that companies that are in the process of scaling can do so with fewer barriers.
“Transitions is a very broad word,” she noted when discussing their investment strategy. For Invest-NL this concept spans - but is not limited to - the key sectors the organisation finances: the energy transition / climate tech, bio-based circular sphere, agrifoods such as cultivated meats, life sciences and health with a focus on affordable quality care in the longer term, and deeptech, such as quantum and photonics.
It also backs VC funds; currently, Invest-NL has invested over €500 million across 50+ funds. Its holistic portfolio includes the likes of IQ Capital Fund V, Positron Ventures, chip startup Qualinx, and biofuel startup Vertoro.
Confronting the ‘missing middle’
It’s no secret that European startups have often been stymied in growth post-Series B. The “missing middle”, a phenomenon that sees growth stage startups on the continent stagnate in search for investment as they scale, has hampered Europe’s potential in producing technological juggernauts that rival the US and China.
Invest-NL resists this cautious ethos. “Our investment focus is on scaling companies that are slightly further along in their life, by providing the growth capital, and working alongside private investors,” Banga said, adding that the investor backs up to 50% of a given round.
“We want to make it as catalytic as possible, both by investing in startups and VC funds,” she added.
The organisation takes a unique approach, by using public capital and mobilising private and European capital alongside it - from institutional investors, and European funds - to companies. It also develops blended finance models, targeting companies that need risk capital that the market may not otherwise provide.
The Netherlands is a booming market
ASML and Unilever are the biggest household names amongst the Dutch business and technology ecosystem, but the country is cultivating a promising generation of upstarts too.
In 2025, Dutch startups raised $3.2 billion in VC funding, according to Dutch data platform Dealroom. And momentum isn’t slowing down; in the first quarter of 2026, startups had already clinched $1.1 billion. AI and healthtech are leading industries, with food, energy, and semiconductor startups also grabbing significant investor attention since 2025.
With a strong university ecosystem that pumps out talent, startups are also spoilt for choice when hiring.
Unlike other European countries that may have relied on government subsidies to grow its startup ecosystem, Banga notes that the Netherlands is more dependent on its market economy. While Invest-NL has a special mandate from the Dutch government, it works with the confluence of public and private funding structures that the Netherlands facilitates.
Banga also highlighted Eindhoven as a boon for the country’s venture ecosystem. A tech centre and R&D hub, it houses high-tech research clusters across the life sciences, climate tech, semiconductors, AI, and quantum - to name a few.
“The high level of innovation, focused on societal topics, excites me at least. We can really make a difference with the innovative tech that can solve the world’s most urgent problems,” she added.
Impact as a central pillar
For Invest-NL, impact is not an afterthought; it’s a key tenet that shapes the organisation’s funding strategies, operational structure, and hiring practices. This ethos is apparent in the organisation’s Diverse Managers Programme, wherein it backs funds that “structurally embed diversity within their management teams and investment strategies,” per its website.
It targets funds that may miss some criteria points (such as minimum fund size or stage), but are diverse - for example, female-led, have a strong focus on backing female founders or women-focussed issues, and have strong female representation in its management teams. It also looks at broader forms of diversity in teams, including ethnic and cultural diversity.
“The Dutch venture capital market is one of the more advanced ones in Europe, and it is a dynamic market,” Banga said. Invest-NL embodies these values of progress both in the companies it backs, and the way it operates.
Jellie Banga has over 25 years of experience in the banking sector, including a stint as COO/CCO of Triodos Bank. After spending a year as CEO of Impact Institute, Banga joined Invest-NL as its Chief Business Officer and executive member of its board.
Invest-NL is the Netherlands' national promotional institution, providing risk capital to impact startups, scaleups, larger scale project finance and funds.