24 leading funds launch initiative for more growth capital in Germany
Germany has strong research, successful founders and innovative technology companies. What is often lacking is sufficient growth capital to establish these companies in the country in the long term and make them internationally competitive.
This is where the new German Venture & Growth Forum comes in. The initiative is supported by 24 leading venture and growth investors from Germany and Europe and aims to intensify the dialog between institutional investors, venture capital funds and political decision-makers.
The German Venture & Growth Forum initiative is supported by the following 24 venture and growth investors:
UVC Partners, Acton Capital, AENU, Atlantic Labs, b2venture, Capnamic Ventures, Cherry Ventures, DTCP, Earlybird, Greenfield Capital, Headline, High-Tech Gründerfonds, HV Capital, Join Capital, Lakestar, Project A, Row Capital, Simon Capital, Speedinvest, TVM Capital, Redstone, Vorwerk Ventures, Vsquared Ventures, XDeck Ventures
Sovereignty needs capital
The guiding principle of the initiative is clearly formulated:
"Sovereignty needs capital. Capital follows returns. The two can be combined."
The funds argue that technological sovereignty and economic competitiveness are closely linked to the availability of venture capital. If you want to build up future industries in Europe, you must also be prepared to mobilize corresponding sources of capital.
Many market participants see a need to catch up, particularly in an international comparison. While large institutional investors in the USA have been investing part of their assets in venture and growth funds for decades, the asset class has so far remained comparatively underrepresented in Germany.
The German Venture & Growth Playbook
To accompany the Forum, the initiators are publishing the German Venture & Growth Playbook.
The publication is aimed specifically at institutional investors such as insurance companies, pension funds, pension schemes and foundations and is intended to provide a practical insight into the venture capital asset class.
Among other things, the playbook deals with
- Strategic allocation in venture and growth funds
- Portfolio construction and diversification
- Investment cycles over a period of up to twelve years
- Return profiles and risk management
- Current market and financing trends
The aim is to dispel existing reservations and provide institutional investors with a sound basis for making decisions on potential investments in the venture capital sector.
More capital for start-ups and scale-ups
The initiators see considerable potential for additional investments in German and European technology companies and believe that even a moderate increase in institutional allocations to venture and growth funds could release billions in additional capital for start-ups and scale-ups.
At the same time, the playbook points out that venture capital has historically been able to generate attractive returns, particularly for long-term investors with sufficiently diversified portfolios.
Capital market, innovation economy and risk appetite
The German Venture & Growth Forum therefore sees itself not only as an industry meeting, but also as a platform for a structured exchange between capital providers, investors and politicians.
When so many established and institutionally anchored venture and growth investors agree on a common agenda, this should attract attention far beyond the industry, especially among politicians and the public. After all, this is not just about capital allocation within an existing ecosystem, but about the question of how Europe can secure its future economic substance. Against the backdrop of financing rounds and exit prospects that now have a global dimension (think of companies and their rounds and IPOs such as Anthropic, OpenAI, Alphabet or SpaceX), it is clear how much the economic weighting is shifting internationally. Europe can therefore hardly afford to remain primarily risk-averse. Instead, it needs an environment that systematically facilitates ambitious start-ups, mobilizes growth capital and specifically enables start-ups to create global market leaders. This is the basis for a sustainable and positive economic future.
Germany and Europe have the talent and technology to create global market leaders. Now it is up to each individual in the ecosystem.
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