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The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate presented the interim evaluation of Invest-NL to the First and Second Chamber on 8th December. This evaluation was conducted by Dialogic in collaboration with Professor Peter Roosenboom (RSM-EUR) and was accompanied by a (Untranslated).
Invest-NL in Brief:
With the establishment of Invest-NL at the end of 2019, the Netherlands once again has a National Promotional Institution (NPI) focused on financing and realizing societal transition challenges for businesses and providing access to enterprise finance when the market falls short. Invest-NL consists of two entities: Invest-NL Capital for Financing and Invest-NL Business Development for Development. Invest-NL started with a budget of €1.7 billion for Financing and has committed €605 million by September 2022. It has made 52 investments in funds and companies, primarily focused on specific themes such as circular and CO2-neutral transition goals. Dialogic conducted a thorough evaluation of Invest-NL's activities from April to September 2022 to assess their progress and added value.
One of the conclusions drawn was that Invest-NL is empowered enough by its mandate to engage in investments contributing to societal transitions, yet its scope is somewhat limited. Three perspectives on market conformity - economic, state aid, and stimulating perspectives - were distinguished to ascertain Invest-NL's flexibility in making direct and indirect investments. The evaluation revealed that Invest-NL plays a vital role as a government instrument, albeit with constraints on its investment opportunities. Notwithstanding the current conditions, a broader availability of risk-bearing capital in circular and CO2-neutral transition fields would be beneficial.
Based on the analysis, there is no immediate need to modify Invest-NL's mandate. However, the recommendations include clarifying certain aspects to enhance Invest-NL's market positioning. This involves defining market conformity and expected norm returns, improving efficiency in the assessment of funding requests, and refining the investment delineation and strategy communication.
For the full list of conclusions and recommendations, please refer to the (Untranslated) of the evaluation in the (Untranslated) and Chapter 6 of the (Untranslated).
