Urban Impact Ventures

Urban Impact Ventures is a Dutch profit-with-purpose impact venture capital firm founded in 2020 and headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, operating with an international Bulgarian-Dutch team. The fund is on a mission to improve urban quality of life across Europe, blending capital with deep expertise in investing, innovation, impact entrepreneurship and sustainable urban development. It concentrates on two core themes within the urban environment, decarbonization and circularity, targeting the funding gap for the sustainable transformation of small and mid-sized cities and backing entrepreneurs who apply technology to urban infrastructure. Alongside attractive financial returns, the firm explicitly aims for a material net-positive contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and it backs innovative, scalable early- and expansion-stage businesses that accelerate the urban sustainability transition, generally as a co-investor. Urban Impact Ventures was founded by Hans van Houwelingen, former CEO of ACTIAM NV, a leading sustainable and impact asset manager with around EUR 65 billion in assets; its team of about 12, including three partners, also features venture partner Korstiaan Zandvliet, known for work on European liveability, social ventures and urban food solutions. Its first fund, UIV Fund I, targeted total commitments of EUR 30 million to roughly EUR 50 million. Portfolio companies include rooftop wind-and-solar energy firm IBIS Power, its most recent disclosed deal in August 2024, smart-mobility and fare-collection software company Modeshift, and hyperloop developer Hardt. By focusing on decarbonization and circularity in small and mid-sized European cities, Urban Impact Ventures backs the technologies improving urban quality of life.