InvestEU

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long‑term funding by leveraging substantial private and public capital in support of Europe’s sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilize private investments for the EU’s policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition.

InvestEU aims to boost economic growth, innovation, sustainability, digital transformation, and social investment - especially in areas where market financing is insufficient.

The programme operates through three main components:

• the InvestEU Fund,
• the InvestEU Advisory Platform
• and the InvestEU Portal.

The InvestEU Fund is implemented by financial partners that invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of € 26.2 billion. This full budget guarantee supports the implementation partners’ projects, increases their risk‑bearing capacity and aims to mobilise at least € 372 billion of additional investment.

Key Policy Windows by the InvestEU Fund include:

• Sustainable Infrastructure (energy, transport, water),

• Research, Innovation and Digitisation (RID),
• Financing for small and medium Enterprises (SMEs),
• Social Investments and Skills.

Further information on InvestEU is available on the European Commission’s website at InvestEU Programme - InvestEU - European Union.

NRW.BANK is the first “Implementing Partner” in Germany to have directly signed a guarantee agreement with the European Commission on December 11^th, 2025.

Through the new NRW.Venture EU Tech&Scale Fund, NRW.BANK will be able to invest up to € 30 million in highly innovative scale-ups – twice as much as before. In total, up to € 200 million in additional funding will be made available for investments in young deep tech and growth companies based in North Rhine-Westphalia.

NRW.Venture EU Tech&Scale will focus on innovative and capital-intensive scale-ups in advanced financing phases, particularly in the fields of deep tech, green tech, Industry 4.0, biotechnology, medical technology and digital solutions. Scale-ups are rapidly growing, highly innovative companies that have moved beyond the start-up phase, are now in a phase of growth, and have significant capital needs as a result.

NRW.BANK is financing the Fund from its own resources and thus independently of the state budget. It shares the risk of potential losses with the European Commission on a 50/50 pari passu basis. At the same time, both parties participate equally in potential returns, for instance through an exit.

Through its new Scale-Up fund, NRW.BANK will support the RID Window.

The team and investment strategy behind NRW.Venture is found here.