Limburg invests in innovation with new Brightlands Future Fund

To give innovative companies, smart ideas and innovative technologies room to grow, the Province of Limburg is working on a new fund: the Brightlands Future Fund. With this new €100 million investment fund, the Province wants to improve access to financing for innovative companies and projects and thus contribute to a stronger establishment and innovation climate in Limburg.

The Provincial Executive gave the green light today to present the plan to Provincial States. This gives Provincial States the opportunity to express their wishes and considerations before the fund can actually start.

Economic challenges and opportunities

Several analyses, including the Wennink report, show that Limburg has less access to growth capital than might be expected based on its economic size. This limits the opportunities for innovative companies to grow and develop sustainably in the region. Without targeted action, there is a risk that talent, knowledge and entrepreneurship will develop outside of Limburg.

At the same time, important opportunities are arising. New technologies and strategic developments, such as the arrival of the Einstein Telescope and innovations in the defense sector and key technologies, offer opportunities for growth in activity, knowledge and employment. To make better use of these opportunities and strengthen the financing possibilities for innovative activities, the Provincial Executive - after consultation with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, client of the Wennink report and also co-shareholder of LIOF - has decided to give shape to the Brightlands Future Fund.

Deputy Stephan Satijn: "Limburg has a lot of potential, but it often lacks sufficient growth capital at the right time to take full advantage of it. With the Brightlands Future Fund, we are giving smart ideas room to grow and ensuring that talent and innovation remain firmly anchored in our region."

With the Brightlands Future Fund, we are giving smart ideas room to grow and ensuring that talent and innovation remain firmly anchored in our region.

Stimulating innovative companies

The Brightlands Future Fund, with an intended size of €100 million, is intended to complement the existing financing landscape. Returned funds can be redeployed so that investments can also contribute to new economic development in the longer term. The fund invests along the entire development line of innovation: from early phase and valorization to growth and scaling up. This involves a broad technological focus, with particular attention to the themes of the Brightlands Campuses, defense-related innovations, AI and innovative SMEs.

From the start, the fund can also be used for innovative activity around the Einstein Telescope cluster, contributing to the further strengthening of the regional innovation and knowledge ecosystem. In doing so, the Province aims to mobilize private and public investment and fill existing gaps in the funding landscape.

Provincial States will now have the opportunity to provide input, after which a final decision will be made.