Since the launch of the Campus Community Fund (CCF) in September 2020, the funding platform has invested over 60 million euros in the development of Campus Groningen. Investments have included real estate, such as the Chemistry & Engineering Innovation Center on Campus Groningen, facilities such as Innolab Chemistry and Innolab Engineering, promising startups such as Reperio, QDI Systems and SG Papertronics as well as major projects such as Open Diagnostics, Fascinating and 3D Implants.
Rabobank City and Central Groningen, NOM and Campus Groningen committed themselves as the first implementing partners of the CCF at the launch of the funding platform. The CCF aims to have realized 500 million euros in investments by the end of 2025. Before the end of 2021, the counter will have to reach 100 million euros, and it is already at 60 million euros at the end of the first quarter of 2021. "An energetic start, and in the meantime the next projects are already ready for funding," says platform manager Ronald Hesse,
Open for business
Now that several companies with funding issues have found the CCF, the platform is truly up and running. "The year 2021 is all about further setting up the platform and optimizing its implementation. The already realized investments of the Campus Community Fund encourage ambitious expectations. So contact us, because we are open for business!", said Ronald Hesse.
About the Campus Community Fund
The Campus Community Fund - platform for funding - acts as a flywheel to transform the knowledge and expertise available at Campus Groningen, and in the region, even more effectively into important innovations. The CCF's investment strategy anticipates strong developments within the five regional core sectors of agri-food, energy, health/health, chemistry and digital economy, to invest in real estate and infrastructure, facilities and services, and business activities on Campus Groningen. A unique feature of the CCF is its mixed funding structure where public funds, bank funding and investment funds work together within the vision of the ecosystem. This collaboration leads to more efficient and shorter lead times and increases the quality of (investment) projects.
Fascinating
One of the projects where the CCF is adding value is the Fascinating program, developed in collaboration with Campus Groningen. With Fascinating, Agrifirm, Avebe, Cosun Beet Company and FrieslandCampina are building a circular agricultural system that supports a healthy diet, is in balance with nature and realizes economic impact. It is an open test and innovation program that connects companies, the agricultural sector, knowledge institutions and the environment to achieve its goals. Fascinating realized over 20 million euros in funding from its private partners and the Province of Groningen (through the Groningen National Program) in December 2020. The program is managed by the Institute for Sustainable Process Industry (ISPT).
"Campus Groningen is pre-eminently the place for Fascinating and its ambitions. Here we find access to high-quality expertise, talent, facilities and infrastructure. In addition, the network makes the low-threshold regional connection to available agricultural land, experimental farms, chemical industry and large-scale industrial infrastructure for biomass and renewable energy processing," said Tjeerd Jongsma, Director ISPT. "We look forward to establishing innovative collaborations and facilities together with the CCF."