Impact Expansion Fund I Closes, Exceeding Target
This week, Impact Expansion Fund I announced the final closing at its hard cap of €150 million, far exceeding its €120 million target size. Impact Expansion is an independent fund manager sponsored by KOIS; its purpose is to provide development capital to European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a strong social and environmental impact.
The fundraising took place in a challenging environment, as 2023 saw a big drop in private equity investments. The oversubscription of Impact Expansion Fund I goes against this trend, pointing to signs of “an increasing appetite from the investors' community to contribute to the emergence of a new growth model respectful of people and planet,” to quote stakeholders from Impact Expansion.
The fund targets the environment, skilling & inclusion and healthcare sectors, seeking to support “profitable SMEs looking for €5 to €30 million of capital to accelerate their development and increase their impact.”
To achieve its hard cap of €150 million, Impact Expansion Fund I received support from the European Investment Fund (EIF), Swen Capital Partners, BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity, Ethias (Belgium Insurance company), Securex (Belgium Human Resources and Insurance company) and SFPIM (Belgian Sovereign Wealth Fund) and other institutional investors and family offices.
“For over 10 years, we have been supporting SMEs whose main objectives are to address these growing societal and environmental needs,” said François de Borchgrave, Partner at Impact Expansion. “So, it is now very pleasing to receive such support from such strong names.” François and Charles-Antoine Janssen are partners in the fund as well as founders of KOIS, the trailblazing impact investing firm that pioneered social impact bonds.
Impact Expansion Fund I has also announced investments in four companies: “Potential Project, SomniPlanet, MonKitSolaire and BeliVert, which are respectively providing solutions to burnout in large organisations, sleep apnea treatment, renewable energy accessibility and energy efficiency for buildings.”
To measure impact, the fund will use the COMPASS methodology, developed by the GIIN (Global Impact Investing Network), covering the three main pillars of impact: (i) intentionality, (ii) additionality and (iii) measurability.
Stay tuned for more developments from Impact Expansion and KOIS – and congratulations to their teams on a successful fund closing!