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BGF II raises EUR 247.5 MILLION

The second Belgian Growth Fund (BGF II) increased its capital to EUR 247.5 million at the end of December 2025 during a second closing, raising an additional EUR 35.5 million. The new funds come from Belgian pension funds and family offices. The fundraising period has also been extended to allow interested investors to join. Like BGF I, launched in 2019, this second 'super fund for growers' invests in funds that finance promising Belgian companies and help them scale up, also internationally.

Six years after the launch of the first Belgian growth fund BGF I, BGF II raised EUR 35.5 million at its second closing. New participants include Belgian pension funds and family offices. Previously, entities such as AG Insurance, Ethias, MRBB, and KU Leuven (in addition to SFPIM, PMV, and BNP Paribas Fortis) had already injected capital into this second ‘super fund for scale-ups’.

Effective Model

BGF I, launched in 2019 with a committed capital of EUR 312 million, has proven the effectiveness of the fund-of-funds model for Belgian scale-ups and growth companies. The EUR 717 million that the funds of BGF I have already invested in 48 Belgian scale-ups is 2.3 times the total amount committed by BGF I to these 19 funds. To date, 71% of BGF I's capital has been called from shareholders, and 31% of this has already flowed back, the result of successful portfolio company exits. For example, the Leuven-based video technology developer Theo Technologies (with an investment from Smartfin Capital II) was acquired by the US company Dolby Laboratories, and the Brussels-based expense management platform Mobilexpense (with a participation from Fortino Capital PE I) was acquired by Visma.

Impact on the Belgian Ecosystem

As with the first fund of funds, the goal of BGF II is to support the growth and internationalization of promising Belgian scale-ups and growth companies by giving them access to venture capital through the funds in which BGF II invests. BGF II ensures that there is always a 'Belgian angle'. “Belgium lags behind its neighboring countries when it comes to the financing of scale-ups and growth companies, the so-called ‘second equity gap’. The value and job creation at such growth companies is significant”, says BGF chairman Pierre Demaerel.

6 funds

So far, BGF II has invested EUR 95 million in 6 funds, including Bencis VII, Notion Capital Opportunities III, and Fortino Capital PE III, which recently raised EUR 700 million and attracted interest from American investors as well. “BGF has supported the Belgian ecosystem of scale-up and growth funds by bringing larger funds to the market. We are proud to have supported the growth of the Fortino funds since their inception,” says Pierre Demaerel. Just as BGF I invested in Apheon V, BGF II participated in Aphon VI, the biggest fund ever in Belgium so far.

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