Defense Invests €100 Million in SecFund to Increase Innovative Power of Dutch Startups

In order to foster innovation in the Defense sector, a new investment fund 'SecFund' has been announced on 15 October. This fund, with a fund capital of 100 million euros, will provide early-stage financing to Dutch start-ups, scale-ups and innovative SMEs that meet the innovation needs of Defence. The fund invests up to a maximum amount of 5 million euros per company and is expected to open in January 2025.

With this fund, The Ministry of Defence, the provinces, the Ministery of Economic Affairs, de regional development agencies and the industry are joining forces for national security, innovative strength and economic growth.

Gijs Tuinman, State Secretary of Defence: “With this SecFund we support start-ups and scale-ups in a crucial phase to jointly develop innovations for a safer Netherlands.”

The fund wants to empower local businesses with the resources they need to scale their operations and bring new solutions to market. As defense technologies continue to play a crucial role in national security, this fund aims to be a catalyst for the next wave of innovation in this high-stakes industry.

European Union research has shown that innovative companies in the defence sector are more likely to struggle with acquiring financing compared to companies in other sectors. Raising venture capital poses a major challenge. Not only because the capital needs of these companies are very high, but also because financiers are reluctant to invest in the defence industry. The SecFund should bridge this gap.

Dual-Use in security and civil

The SecFund will focus on dual-use products. These products can have both civilian and security applications. For example, technology that can make installations low-noise. These applications lead to quiet factories and furthermore to drones creating less noise. Another example is LiFi: a new generation of data transmission, which is faster than WiFi and can transfer more data per second. 

Source: InnovationQuarter (in Dutch)