Rabobank and partners will invest 500 million euros in Campus Groningen with a new investment fund. The goal of the Campus Community Fund (CCF) is to enable the growth of innovations and other economic activities. Tomorrow, mayor Koen Schuiling of Groningen will, together with Rabobank president Wiebe Draijer, give the official starting signal for the fund. Rabobank previously launched a similar initiative in the Brainport Eindhoven region.
In six years’ time, Campus Groningen has grown into one of the largest campuses in the Netherlands. With more than 200 companies and three knowledge institutions, the Campus claims to account for more than 22,000 jobs. The Campus wants to grow significantly in the coming years and the CCF should help to make this possible.
According to Lisanne Brakenhoff, manager of Campus Groningen, the uniqueness of the fund is the mixed financing structure in which public funds, bank financing, and investment funds work together within the Campus Groningen ecosystem. “We are extremely proud of this jointly created Campus Community Fund. This collaboration leads to more efficient and shorter turnaround times and increases the quality of the projects.”
Investment strategy
The CCF focuses on the five regional core sectors of agri-food, energy, health, chemicals, and the digital economy. The fund will act as a financing and investment instrument, connecting and stimulating developments on and around the physical campus. The investments will take place between 2020 and 2025.
Half of the investment will be used for real estate and infrastructures, such as multifunctional buildings and residential and recreational solutions. There will also be money for physical facilities such as equipment and business activities in the form of working capital for existing companies and start-ups.
Broad cooperation
In developing the fund, Rabobank Stad en Midden Groningen, NOM, and Campus Groningen sought cooperation with various stakeholders in the region, such as the University of Groningen, Hanze University of applied sciences Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, municipality and province of Groningen, and campus companies such as Avebe, Mercachem Syncom, and the LIFE Cooperative.
“The further development of Campus Groningen is an integral project. We’re not looking at the individual elements, we’re looking at the whole. That’s where the strength lies”, says Mayor Schuiling.
“The chosen direction to invest in the entire ecosystem fits in seamlessly with Rabobank’s cooperative mission”, says Rabobank president Wiebe Draijer about the collaboration within the Campus Community Fund. “For us, this is where our social and commercial objectives come together perfectly.”
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