News

Achmea Innovation Fund invests in fintech business BetterTradeOff

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 09:00:00 +0200

The Achmea Innovation Fund has taken a stake in BetterTradeOff, a fintech business from Singapore that wants to make financial planning accessible to all. This investment aligns with Achmea’s mission to support customers in making well-considered choices with applicable financial solutions for today and tomorrow.

With the forthcoming changes to Dutch pension legislation, the responsibility for one’s pension is shifting increasingly to the individual. As a result, people have a more active role in planning for their future and deciding what they need for a good pension. According to a survey by Mercer, only 20% of the Dutch population believe that their pension scheme will be sufficient when they retire.

BetterTradeOff’s online platform simplifies robust and comprehensive financial planning. In just a few minutes, users can build an initial plan simply by entering their financial data. From here, they can add various targets and dreams to their plan and can see what they need to achieve them. The tool gives users a complete picture of all their finances, from investments and property to their monthly living expenses.

Making an impact together
Arthur van der Wal, chair of Achmea’s Pensions division: “For many people, the future is increasingly uncertain, in part because of the changes in the pension market. Helping people to stay financially fit is one of the big social challenges in which Achmea wants to play a leading role. We’re delighted about this investment and expect to be able to make a genuine impact working with BetterTradeOff.”

Roll-out in the Netherlands
Laurent Bertrand, CEO of BetterTradeOff is pleased and grateful: “We’re going to use the investment to continue our international expansion, starting in the Netherlands and from there to the United States. We’re keen to tackle the challenges in the Netherlands and are looking forward to working with Achmea.”

Achmea Innovation Fund invests in Land Life Company

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 09:00:00 +0200

The Achmea Innovation Fund is taking a significant non-controlling interest in Land Life Company and as a result will become the largest external investor in this reforestation company. In this way, Achmea’s fund will be supporting Land Life Company’s mission to help restore two billion hectares of degraded land around the world. Achieving the goals of the Paris ClimateAgreement requires a huge quantity of CO2 to be removed from the atmosphere. Reforestation is one of the few, but also one of the most cost-efficient, solutions for this. Land Life Company is a technology-driven reforestation business that plants trees at scale. This ensures ecological recovery and carbon capture.

By working with Land Life Company, Achmea wants to achieve its own climate objectives but also help customers reduce CO2 emissions until true carbon neutrality can be achieved. Land Life Company’s business model focuses on offsetting CO2 emissions of companies through reforestation if there is no other feasible solution available to become climate-neutral. Related to this, Achmea wants to develop new customer propositions so that it can respond to the rising demand for CO2-offsets, driven by the growing desire of companies, institutions and individuals to do more for the climate, but also driven by rising CO2 emission costs. Fund manager Katharina Maass of the Achmea Innovation Fund: “This is a great, high-impact investment. The Achmea Innovation Fund believes in the mission of Land Life Company. It fits perfectly with Achmea’s corporate mission: contributing to a healthy, safe and futureproof society, while helping Achmea to serve its customers better.”

Long-term alliance

The investment by the Achmea Innovation Fund and its co-investors will ensure that Land Life Company can enter its next growth phase. Also participating in this round are the DOEN Foundation, the Grantham Foundation and sustainability investor Meewind. As well as investing, Achmea Innovation Fund specifically wants to build a long-term alliance with Land Life Company. In that context, Katharina Maass of the Achmea Innovation Fund joins the Supervisory Board of Land Life Company as of closing of the transaction. Jurriaan Ruys, CEO of Land Life Company on the investment and alliance: “Land Life Company looks forward to extending the partnership with the Achmea Innovation Fund. Both Achmea and Land Life Company have a social heart and see what can be achieved with new technology. Together we will work on restoring nature.”

First year of the Achmea Innovation Fund

1 October marked exactly one year since the Achmea Innovation Fund was founded. The fund provides growth capital to promising tech- and other companies which, in line with Achmea’s mission, wish to contribute to a healthy, safe and future-proof society. Working on sustainable solutions, for example on the climate theme, is one of the challenges. Katharina Maass: “With our cooperative identity, Achmea wants to deliver value for our customers and for the community. In this way, we are looking beyond today. That’s where we would like to play a meaningful role with the AchmeaInnovation Fund in.”

Achmea launches investment fund for innovative businesses

Tue, 01 Oct 2019 08:30:00 +0200

Today, the Achmea Innovation Fund has been officially launched. This investment fund will provide growth capital to promising tech and other businesses, operating in Achmea’s strategic domains: health, mobility, living environments and financial solutions for now, tomorrow and later. The initial size of the fund is €100 million.

The Achmea Innovation Fund focuses on promising, fast-growing start-ups and scale-ups, often based on emerging technologies in the Fintech and Insurtech sectors. The fund aims to invest in businesses with a proven product market combination (PMC) that are part of insurance-related ecosystems. In addition to investing, the fund is determined to foster long-term partnerships.

Healthy, safe and future-proof society
Willem van Duin, chairman of Achmea’s Executive Board: “We believe firmly in innovations that make our society healthier, safer or more future-proof. This is why we will continue to develop and support appealing, innovative initiatives that, as well as having a major social impact, also deliver value for Achmea. These initiatives should align with the UN’s three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), on which Achmea is focused: good health and well-being, sustainable cities and communities and climate action. We are keen to work with innovative and ambitious business operators who share our mission. We do this by investing and using Achmea’s strengths and unique attributes, such as our distribution strength, market position and expertise and our network.”

www.achmeainnovationfund.nl