EIF launches €360M fund of funds to unlock €2B for Central Europe infrastructure

What's the deal? The European Investment Fund (EIF) has launched the Three Seas Initiative Infrastructure Fund of FundsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, channelling €360 million into a series of infrastructure funds across Central and Eastern Europe. The vehicle aims to mobilise at least €2 billion for energy, mobility, digital, and social infrastructure between the Baltic, Adriatic, and Black seas.

How it's structured: National institutions from six EU countries — Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovenia — are committing a combined €180 million, which EIF will match. It is one of the EIF's largest co-investment commitments to date under a regional mandate, and its first multi-country investment programme focused on infrastructure.

Where the money goes: The fund of funds expects to back around six infrastructure funds using anchoring stakes alongside other investors. Targets include funds run by first-time and emerging managers in the participating countries, plus pan-European funds that invest in the region.

Who's involved: The national partners are Poland's Bank Gospodarstwa KrajowegoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Romania's Investment and Development BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Lithuania's ILTEDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Bulgaria's JEREMIE Bulgaria EAD, Croatia's HBORDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Slovenia's SID KapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The signing took place in Ljubljana, hosted by SID BankaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → on the margins of the ELTIDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → General Assembly.

What's the endgame? Beyond financing current projects, EIF wants to build lasting capacity by encouraging regional fund managers to form and scale. "This regional investment channel is intended to connect strategic infrastructure across several countries and support concrete projects on the ground," chief executive Marjut Falkstedt said.

The signal: The programme reflects a push to develop a self-sustaining infrastructure fund market across the Three Seas region, blending public and private capital rather than financing projects country by country. By anchoring emerging managers, EIF is betting that a maturing local fund ecosystem can keep drawing long-term investment well beyond this initial round.

Read more: news.fundsforngos.org

Image credit: Horasis