European agrifood tech startups to get investment boost with €30 million EIF commitment to Finnish fund

• EIF pledges up to €30 million to support early-stage agrifood technology companies in Europe, with focus on Northern Europe.

• Commitment by EIF is to Finnish fund Nordic Foodtech VC.

• Backed by InvestEU, operation to accelerate development of technologies for more sustainable food production.  

Luxembourg/Helsinki, 10 September 2026 — The European Investment Fund (EIF) is committing up to €30 million to a Finnish venture capital fund that promotes early-stage agrifood technology companies. The EIF backing for the Finnish fund – called Nordic Foodtech VC (NFT.VC Fund II) – will bolster research in more sustainable and resilient food production system.

Helsinki-based Nordic Foodtech VC has a target size of €80 million and plans to invest in around 30 companies mainly in Northern Europe. It will also pursue opportunities elsewhere in Europe.

The fund reached a first closing of €40 million in April 2025 and the pledge by the EIF, which is part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, will help attract more private investors and takes it very close to the target size. Many science-based agrifood companies in Europe struggle to attract financing at the earliest stages, when technologies need to move from research towards commercial use.

“While Europe has excellent research in food and agriculture, promising technologies need capital and expertise to make the leap from the laboratory to the market,” said EIB Group Vice-President Karl Nehammer. “Our investment will help more young companies turn new ideas into businesses that strengthen food security, climate resilience and European competitiveness.”

NFT.VC Fund II will focus on early stage ventures at pre-seed and seed-stages of financing – including spin-outs from universities and research centres – that are developing sustainable technologies for  agriculture, food, health, aquaculture and broader biosolutions industry.

Nordic Foodtech VC combines specialised investment capital with scientific and industry expertise to help companies through their earliest development stage. The companys first fund has invested in 18 companies across the Nordic and Baltic regions.

“With EIF's support, we're growing our reach across all of Northern Europe”, said Nordic Foodtech VC:s co-founder and managing partner Mika Kukkurainen. “Our portfolio companies are building the deep-tech solutions Europe needs for food security, resilience and nutrition. We believe Europe has a unique opportunity and talent to lead in building the future for food and agriculture”.

The EIF investment is supported by the InvestEU equity product for climate and environmental solutions, including funding from the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund for investments in the “blue economy”, as well as EIB Risk Capital Resources. The majority of the fund’s investments are expected to contribute to climate action and environmental sustainability objectives and the fund will also aim to support gender diversity.

Background information    

EIB Group   

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group is the financing arm of the European Union, owned by the 27 Member States, and one of the largest multilateral development banks in the world. In 2025, the EIB Group signed €100 billion in new financing and advisory services for over 870 high-impact projects under eight core priorities that support EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, territorial cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, strong global partnerships and the savings and investments union. Beyond long-term loans for large infrastructure, the EIB Group crowds in private investment for high-risk innovative projects and businesses, with a growing role in Europe’s markets for venture debt, venture capital, guarantees and securitisations. 

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is the subsidiary of the EIB Group specialised in providing guarantees, securitisation and equity to improve access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses and startups across Europe. Acting as an anchor investor, through its extensive network of partnering banks and investment funds, the EIF mobilises private investment and nurtures the ecosystem of venture capital funds to support innovative European entrepreneurs. 

With the support of all 27 EU governments, the EIF has joined forces with institutional investors in a pan-European alliance to mobilise up to €80 billion for investment into innovative companies scaling up to become global leaders. The joint effort will expand the size and scope of the highly successful European Tech Champions Initiative, which has helped create 15 European mega-funds and scale 45 companies, including 12 unicorns, since being established three years ago. 

Photos of the EIB Group's representatives and headquarters, logo files and video B-roll for media use are available here.  

InvestEU 

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps crowd in private investment for the European Union’s strategic priorities such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings all EU financial instruments previously available for supporting investments within the European Union together under one roof, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is deployed through implementing partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.  

Nordic Food Tech VC

Nordic Foodtech VC is the first Nordic venture capital fund focused on practical solutions for the agriculture and food industries. The company manages two funds: a €42 million fund launched in 2020 and a second fund launched in 2025 under Article 8 of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

Nordic Foodtech VC invests in pre-seed and seed-stage companies that aim to make a positive impact by solving business-critical challenges, ranging from the farm to space and from new sources of protein to healthier eating habits. Initial investments are up to €2 million, with significant reserves for follow-on investments.

The team is based in Helsinki and Copenhagen and operates across Europe, with a particular focus on research spin-outs in the Nordic and Baltic countries.