Investment in Berk fund helps SME North Netherlands move forward

The Noordelijke Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij (NOM) and the Investeringsfonds Groningen (IFG) have made a substantial investment in Berk Partners Groeifonds II. This should give SMEs in the Northern Netherlands a helping hand.

Berk Partners is a Dutch investment company focused on profitable companies with growth potential, especially in the Northern Netherlands. Through targeted investments, Berk Partners helps SME companies throughout the Netherlands reach the next level. ”We are mainly there to support entrepreneurs with the organization of their company, their team and with their strategy,” said Willem Kamps of Berk Partners.

In doing so, the fund fills an opening in the northern investment landscape. Whereas NOM and IFG focus mainly on start-ups and the somewhat smaller, innovative SMEs, Berk Partners looks at the larger parties. ,,In this way we close the chain, as it were,” says Jan-Gerben Postma of the IFG. ,,Berk helps SMEs with growth potential to actually take that next step. That strengthens the SME in the North.”

The three parties have a clear common ambition: to assist SME entrepreneurs in the Northern provinces with knowledge and capital in their growth strategies. ”But we do more together,” says Alexander Draaijer of NOM. ”Berk needs interesting companies that we know about. The sectors on which Groeifonds II focuses – health, food/consumer products and (manufacturing) industry – are sectors that are also very important in the Northern Netherlands. We will organize knowledge exchange, set up network meetings, visit trade fairs together and reach as many entrepreneurs as possible.”

The investment by IFG and NOM in Berk Partners Groeifonds II was recently clinched. For the IFG, it feels familiar. Postma: ,,We also already invested in Growth Fund I. We noticed that Berk’s involvement is great. Talks were held with dozens of companies in Groningen, and eventually investments were made in two Frisian companies, Riviera in Drachten and MTS in Sneek. Growth Fund I has invested in ten Dutch companies, in which the Northern provinces are well represented.”

”The standards and values match those of Northern entrepreneurs,” Alexander Draaijer explained. ”That’s why we have confidence in Berk. Apart from that, the returns are expected to be good. That, of course, is also important. That means extra money for us and the IFG to put into more risky innovative young companies in the North.”