Signatories to Germany’s WIN-Initiative – launched last year to channel capital into start-ups – have started deploying commitments, as the government pushes ahead with plans to double investments in innovative firms to €25bn.
KfW, the state-owned development bank coordinating the initiative on behalf of the German government, said it has spoken with around half of the WIN signatories in recent weeks, including Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), Allianz, BlackRock and Generali Deutschland, to take stock of commitments and investments already made.
“The signatories unanimously report that they are on track with their investments, meaning initial investments have already been made,” a KfW spokesperson told IPE.
Some signatories have already implemented investments committed up to 2030 above their original targets, the spokesperson added.
KfW will publish a first quantitative report on the initiative in the first quarter of 2026, providing figures as of 31 December 2025.
In recent weeks, Startup Verband, the German start-up association, and members of parliament had called for clarity on the initiative’s progress. The Green Party also submitted a parliamentary inquiry, urging the government to shed light on the status of the programme.
The current government coalition agreed to continue the initiative, which began under the previous government, more than doubling initial commitments from €12bn to over €25bn by 2030.
KfW is now working with the government on the next phase – WIN 2.0 – and has begun sounding out the market on ways to strengthen funds of funds.
Commitments are being channelled through direct investments, venture capital funds and funds of funds, with no separate WIN pool or certified funds at KfW, according to the bank.
Deutsche Börse, another WIN signatory, is developing a platform to trade venture capital fund shares in cooperation with stakeholders, with the aim of improving liquidity and transparency in the European market and attracting further institutional allocations to venture capital.
The move is part of a 10-point action plan at the core of the WIN-Initiative, alongside investor commitments. Reforms to investment rules for pension funds, increasing their risk budget for private equity allocations, were approved earlier this year as part of the plan.
Another measure is the planned launch of Growth Fund II (Wachstumsfonds II), the successor to the €1bn Growth Fund raised from institutional investors, including pension funds.
Growth Fund II is currently in the structuring phase, with fundraising expected to begin in early 2026.
“We currently assume a similar target group [for Growth Fund II], which could include insurers, foundations, pension funds, asset managers, and large family offices,” the KfW spokesperson said.
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