The government is allocating twenty billion euros over the next five years for an investment fund. This fund must contribute to the economic growth of the Netherlands. Minister Eric Wiebes of Economic Affairs and Wopke Hoekstra of Finance have now presented the National Growth Fund. The billions must primarily benefit the following spearheads: knowledge development, infrastructure and research, and development & innovation.
The National Growth Fund, also known colloquially as the 'Wopke-Wiebes Fund', is intended exclusively for one-off public investments. The fund will have its own budget and will be chaired by an independent assessment committee. This committee will assess the proposals received. The Lower House must approve the distribution of the funds over the aforementioned spearheads.
The goal of this investment fund is to ensure that Dutch prosperity is increased for the next twenty to thirty years. Challenges in the economy lie in the areas of health care, climate change and aging. Solutions require innovations and large one-off investments that fall outside the current Dutch budget.
The solutions are provided by (SME) companies, entrepreneurs and knowledge institutions. These must be projects that focus on, for example, infrastructure, education and human capital. Think of innovations that increase the productivity of the Netherlands as a whole or the construction of new railway lines.
The proposal is then screened by the fund managers. Various access requirements apply here. For example, the size of the project must be at least thirty million and it may not fall under other (government) regulations and regular expenditures. The proposal then goes to an independent committee that gives advice and may or may not submit it to the cabinet.
Want to know more? Or are you planning to submit a project application? Then keep in touch this page in the eye. It is expected that applications can be submitted in early 2021. FHI will report on this at that time.
Nederlands