• Investment period successfully completed after just under four years.
• Portfolio offers investors diversified access to the European venture asset class
• Funds committed to 46 venture capital funds and five co-investments. Currently, fund investments have reached around 550 innovative technology firms, including 28 unicorns
• Portfolio has recorded a positive performance with first returns already flowing to investors

The Growth Fund Germany successfully completed its investment period at the end of September. Since its investment activity began at the beginning of 2023, it fully committed its fund volume of over one billion euros in just under four years. In total, the Growth Fund Germany has invested in 46 VC funds and, by way of direct co-investments, in five scale-ups, that is, innovative technology firms headed for growth. More than 550 innovative technology firms have already been financed under the Growth Fund and its portfolio funds. The portfolio already includes 28 unicorns – enterprises with a valuation of at least one billion US dollars.

The Growth Fund Germany is one of the largest venture capital (VC) funds of funds ever to be set up in Europe. In addition to the Federal Government and KfW Capital as anchor investors, the fund was composed around 70 per cent of capital from private institutional investors including insurers, superannuation funds, foundations, asset managers and large family offices (see press release of 22 November 2023: Final closing of Wachstumsfonds Deutschland: EUR 1 billion to strengthen the European and German venture capital ecosystem | KfW).

Stefan Wintels, Chief Executive Officer of KfW Group and Supervisory Board Chair of KfW Capital: “The innovative ‘Growth Fund Germany’ is an impressive testament to how private and public capital can jointly contribute to strengthening Germany and Europe as an innovation hub. A win-win situation has emerged. We have been able to mobilise significant additional funds for innovative companies and thereby strengthen the German and European innovation ecosystem on a sustained basis. This benefits not just young enterprises and their employees but also the investors of the funds participating in the successful development of the portfolio. The Growth Fund Germany can rightly be referred to as an excellent best practice example of the successful interplay of private and public capital.”

Dr Jörg Goschin, Chief Executive Officer of KfW Capital: “Thanks to a disciplined and efficient investment strategy and using a ‘pick-the-best’ approach, KfW Capital as an investment adviser succeeded in investing the raised capital in top-performing VC funds and start-ups in a short period of time. We are seeing a diversified and very well developing portfolio already in the early phase. In this, the investors of the Growth Fund Germany benefit from our investment expertise and our broad market access, also with a view to potential co-investment opportunities.”

The portfolio is diversified across a range of sectors and development stages, with 45 per cent of the commitments going to information and communication technologies (ICT), 28 per cent to life sciences and 27 per cent to other innovative fields such as industrial tech and climate tech. The stage focus prioritises the growth stage with 57 per cent, followed by early stagers with 31 per cent and generalists with 12 per cent. The successful portfolio development is also reflected in its past performance.

KfW Capital designed and structured the Growth Fund Germany on behalf of the Federal Government and KfW and has been mandated to act as investment intermediary and adviser. The fund is managed by the fund service platform Universal Investment Gruppe.

Further information is available at: https://www.kfw-capital.de/Newsroom/Growth-Fund-Germany/