EIF invests in SPOROS Platform, empowering the Circular Economy in Greece and beyond.

Advancing the Circular Economy transition in Greece

The European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, officially announced, its investment in SPOROS Platform, an impact investing platform focused on supporting companies advancing the transition towards a Circular Economy in Greece and beyond. The timing of the official announcement is highly symbolic, during the action week for the International Day of Zero Waste established by the UN.

Mr. Ioannis Tsakiris, EIB Vice-President, highlighted that the transition towards circular economy models represents a major opportunity for Europe’s economy and its environmental sustainability. “By supporting SPOROS Platform, the EIB Group is helping strengthen Greece’s capacity to develop innovative companies that combine environmental impact with economic competitiveness. Initiatives such as this contribute to building a more resilient and resource-efficient European economy.”

SPOROS has reached a final close of €58 million under the Sustainability and Social Impact Window of the Equifund II initiative, co-financed by the European Union through the NSRF 2021–2027 and the Competitiveness Programme, tailored to promote impact investing strategies within the Greek ecosystem.

EIF’s commitment to impact investments creating value for the economy and society

The European Investment Fund, being a cornerstone investor in SPOROS Platform, emphasised the importance of strengthening access to finance for innovative companies contributing to the Circular transition.

“By backing innovative companies with practical, scalable solutions, SPOROS helps turn environmental challenges into real opportunities. At the EIF, we remain focused on supporting investments that create value for both the economy and society.”

“The Circular transition is both a necessity and a historic market opportunity for growth, safeguarding resource security and strategic autonomy in our Region, especially during critical times” said Mr. Dimitris Simos, Managing Partner and CEO at SPOROS. “SPOROS supports innovative companies that utilise circularity to achieve competitive edge and scalability. Our investment approach aligns long-term environmental impact with strong financial performance and the requirements of institutional capital. We welcome EIF as a key investor that empowers our mission in Greece and Europe.”

SPOROS Impact Evening at Megaron Hypatia

The announcement of EIF’s investment took place during the SPOROS Impact Evening, a special gathering of SPOROS investors and portfolio in Athens at Megaron Hypatia, named after the female philosopher-mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria, as a powerful symbol of the value of ideas and material that remain in time. The event served as a meeting point for the innovation, sustainability and investment ecosystem, with the participation of EU institution representatives, investors, founders, portfolio companies and market executives.

Strengthening Greece’s sustainability & innovation ecosystem

SPOROS is managed by SPOROS Impact Ventures AEDAKES, an impact mission-driven & hands-on investment manager based in Athens, led by an experienced team of investment professionals with expertise across venture capital, entrepreneurship and sustainability. The investment team has already deployed capital across 14 investments headquartered in 5 european countries and 6 out of 13 Greek Peripheries, building a portfolio of companies addressing environmental challenges through commercially viable and scalable solutions, while boosting regional growth and high-quality local jobs.

Investment strategy and focus areas

SPOROS Platform invests in companies operating in sectors related to the circular economy and environmental sustainability, with two core thematic pillars.

• Circular Innovation, by financing startups that integrate advanced resource-efficiency models at the Seed+ and Series A stages.
• Circular Transition, by supporting established SMEs in the process of transforming their production and operational models towards enhanced sustainability, resilience and circularity, prioritising international expansion at the growth stage.

SPOROS concentrates on key sectors including: clean energy and logistics, manufacturing and industrial symbiosis, agri-food and bioeconomy, blue growth and sustainable tourism, as well as cross-sectoral circular enablers that drive substantial resource savings across the value chains. SPOROS addresses a critical funding gap in the €1–6 million range, targeting high-growth productive enterprises that constitute the backbone of the Greek economy and serve as key drivers of employment creation. SPOROS’s investment instruments are primarily paired with robust corporate governance mechanisms, specialised advisory support and capacity-building initiatives tailored to each company.

From a geographic standpoint, SPOROS maintains a dual focus:

• Smart Specialisation Strategy: leveraging the competitive advantages and development priorities of each Region to foster job creation and climate risk reduction.
• Circularity Transfer: attracting innovative circular scale-ups from more mature markets to establish Regional Hubs in Greece, serving the broader Southeast Europe and Middle East region, enhancing employment and driving national economic growth

About EquiFund II

EquiFund II is a follow-up to the successful EquiFund programme launched in 2017. It aims to enhance access to finance for Greek companies by mobilising public and private capital into venture funds that support entrepreneurship, technology transfer, innovation and skills development. The initiative is co-funded by the European Union through the NSRF 2021–2027 and implemented in partnership with the Greek authorities.

About SPOROS Platform

SPOROS Platform is the first Circular Economy Impact Fund in Greece (SFDR Article 9) aligned with EU Taxonomy, with a premium investor base including the HDBI (Green Fund Call), EIF (Equifund II), institutional and strategic sustainable investors from Greece and Europe. The investment team has already completed 14 investments, building a diversified portfolio of companies addressing key environmental and resource challenges in growing markets.

About EIF

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth and employment.