On 22 September, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group launched the European Institutional Investors Pact (EIIP) at the TechEU Equity Summit in Brussels. The Pact is a new voluntary framework designed to channel more long-term institutional capital, from banks, pension funds and insurance companies, into Europe's technology and scale-up ecosystem, addressing one of the key funding gaps identified in Europe's competitiveness agenda.

Thirteen institutional investors have already expressed their intention to invest in 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, managed by EQT and backed by the Commission alongside leading European institutional investors. The Pact has been developed jointly by the Commission and the EIB Group under the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy.

To support investors, the Pact combines two complementary elements:

• A Policy Dialogue Forum, led by the Commission, enabling exchanges with institutional investors on regulatory and EU investment policy developments;
• An Investment Platform, led by the EIB Group, helping investors access investment opportunities across Europe's venture capital and growth equity ecosystem through the sharing of investment pipelines, market intelligence and peer exchange. It will be developed in close cooperation with Member States and aligned with relevant national initiatives, and aims to facilitate engagement and provide credible pathways to exit for early investors.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen noted: 

'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'.

EIB Group President Nadia Calviño described the Pact as 

'a single, credible entry point into innovation financing" for Europe's institutional investors, sending "a powerful message of European unity, ambition and determination'.

Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva stressed that while Europe has the talent, the research base and the entrepreneurial ambition to lead in strategic technologies, many companies still lack access to sufficient late-stage capital. The Pact aims to connect Europe's deep pools of long-term capital with its most promising innovators, 'so they can scale up and stay in Europe'.

The track record so far

Launched in 2023 by the EIB Group and six EU Member States, the European Tech Champions Initiative has already backed 15 mega-funds with a target size of over €1 billion and supported 47 scale-ups, including 15 unicorns. Building on this, ETCI 2.0, endorsed by all 27 EU Member States, aims to mobilise up to €80 billion through a pan-European alliance of institutional investors. The Scaleup Europe Fund will make direct investments in ambitious European companies in strategic tech areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, semiconductors, robotics, energy technologies, space, biotechnologies, medical technologies, advanced materials and agritech.

What this could mean for regional research and innovation

The launch of the Pact is a significant step in closing Europe's growth-financing gap, a gap that is felt most acutely outside Europe's core innovation hubs. Many regional start-ups, including deep-tech ventures emerging from universities, research organisations and clusters, still relocate to a handful of "supercluster" regions or abroad when they reach the scale-up stage, taking jobs, talent and value with them. The Pact's ambition to help companies scale 'while remaining rooted in Europe' is therefore highly relevant for regional innovation ecosystems: the ultimate goal should be that scaling up no longer requires moving away.

From ERRIN's perspective, two elements deserve particular attention from regional stakeholders:

Regional ecosystems produce the deal flow. The strategic tech areas targeted by the Scaleup Europe Fund, from agritech and biotechnologies to energy technologies and advanced materials, map closely onto the smart specialisation priorities of many European regions. Regions with strong research and innovation ecosystems have a clear interest in ensuring their most promising growth-stage companies are picked up by the Platform's investment pipelines and market intelligence.

The place-based dimension must not be an afterthought. Experience shows that private capital tends to concentrate where it is already abundant. Without deliberate attention to less-developed and moderate innovation ecosystems, the Pact risks reinforcing existing disparities, a concern ERRIN has consistently raised in the context of the competitiveness debate. Complementary instruments, from InvestEU-backed funds and the EIC to ERDF-supported investment schemes and the next Framework Programme, remain essential so that companies in all regions can reach the growth stage at which the Pact's capital becomes relevant.

Regions can act now. Regional governments and innovation agencies can map their scale-up pipeline, engage with their national initiatives under ETCI 2.0 and explore how regional co-investment vehicles can connect with the funds assembling under the Pact. Those with strong tech sites, clusters and research infrastructures, including in the Widening countries, have genuine assets to offer.

Next steps for ERRIN

ERRIN will follow the roll-out of the European Institutional Investors Pact and its Investment Platform closely and will continue to bring the place-based perspective into the debate on how the scale-up financing agenda connects with regional innovation ecosystems, smart specialisation and the design of the next Framework Programme. Members interested in this agenda are encouraged to raise their experiences and needs through ERRIN's working groups, specifically the Policy Working Group.