German scheme invests in VC arm of cooperative banking group

Geno Pensionskasse VVaG, the German corporate pension fund for the employees of cooperative organisations, has invested in a fund run by Amberra, the venture capital arm of the cooperative banking group (Genossenschaftlichen FinanzGruppe Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken).

The pension scheme has opted to subscribe shares in Amberra’s venture capital fund through a Spezialfonds overseen by Union Investment, it said in a LinkedIn post. The scheme did not disclose the investment amount.

Founded in 2022 by the Federal Association of German Volksbanks and Raiffeisenbanks e.V. (BVR) and the DZ Bank Group, among others, Amberra takes equity stakes in start-ups to scale up the “beyond banking” business models of the cooperative banking group, it said.

It also invests in start-ups outside the cooperative banking group to provide to members and customers of the cooperative banks new solutions, according to the fund’s website.

“Under the umbrella of the Cooperative Financial Network Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken Group, Amberra’s fund invests in start-ups, and builds new business models in order to sustainably expand the network [of cooperative institutions], far beyond the core banking business,” Geno Pensionskasse added in the LinkedIn post.

Björn Schmuck, the managing director of Amberra, told Handelsblatt the venture capital investor started collecting commitments for a new fund in March. The fund is expected to reach a volume of €100m, which will be called up over four years.

“We initially expect around 50-80 cooperative banks to participate [in the fund[”, he said.

However, Amberra is counting on further institutions willing to commit to the fund over the course the year, according to Handelsblatt.

The German government is vehemently trying to channel institutional investors’ capital towards start-ups, as the number of venture capital deals in Germany sunk by 25% last year, with international companies rarely taking over German tech start-ups, according to a report published by EY in March.

The government plans to set up a Growth Fund – Wachstumsfonds II – by 2026, a further vehicle for Pensionsfonds and Pensionskassen to invest in start-up companies.

The latest digital edition of IPE’s magazine is now available