BrazilConsulting firm Projective launches venture capital fund
Consulting firm Projective has in the footsteps of larger counterparts such as McKinsey and the Big Four launched its own venture capital fund. The Alliance has beefed up with €5 million worth of funds.
The €5 million will serve as the fund’s starting capital. In the long run, The Alliance aims to have structural participations in 10 to 15 start-ups in the financial services and fintech ecosystem. “Our participations can go up to 50%,” explained Stefan Dierckx, the founder and chief executive officer of Projective.
Founded thirteen years ago, Projective is a mid-sized pan-European consulting firm in the financial services segment. The Belgian-origin consultancy specialises in project management, and further helps its clients including banks, insurance companies, asset managers and fintechs with the delivery of digital transformation, cost reductions and innovation.
The setup of The Alliance builds on the firm’s strategy to become a leading player in the financial services innovation ecosystem. Earlier this year, Projective returned to full independence after it bought back its shares from Diebold Nixdorf, which acquired a stake in the firm in 2016. The milestone has seen its management craft bold growth plans (100% growth in the next three years), backed by the ambition of building a prominent ecosystem for services and solutions.
This ecosystem approach builds on The Glue, a Projective-backed solutions marketplace for financial services. The Alliance will invest in start-ups and companies that “bring long-term added value to the entire ecosystem,” said Dierckx.
“This is however not a classic venture capital fund,” added the chief executive, pointing out that all of the firm’s employees can participate in ventures. “Many of our people have an entrepreneurial spirit. Yet they are often reluctant to build their own company. The Alliance meets these entrepreneurial ambitions in a less risky way,” explained Corjan Mol, together with Piet Impens country manager of Projective in the Netherlands.
Impens added; “This is intrapreneurship to the next level: employees can actively participate in investing in the growth of the international ecosystem.”
Since formally launching in October last year, The Alliance has meanwhile closed its first deal with a stake in Exellys, a Belgian start-up that trains and provides IT talent to companies. Raf Seymus, managing director of Exellys, is delighted with the investment. “The Alliance’s investment gives us access to a larger network to increase our impact and expand abroad.”
Projective has five offices in Europe – in Brussels, Amsterdam, London, Frankfurt and Paris.
