At April's EIC Scaling Club Ignition Forum, we had the opportunity to speak with Thomas Ferré, Venture and Growth Investor at the European Investment Bank (EIB), about the EIB's pivotal role in catalyzing Europe's deep tech ecosystem.

The EIB is one of the largest technology investors in the EU, pouring billions annually in innovation ventures through the European Investment Fund's (EIF) fund-of-fund activity, its own largest-in-Europe venture debt program, and by advising the EIC Fund – one of Europe's leading deep tech investors.

With many years of experience in venture capital under his belt, Thomas Ferré, a senior member of the EIB's venture capital team, has been at the forefront of the bank's decades-long efforts to bridge financing gaps for innovative European companies. 

In his insightful interview, Thomas sheds light on the EIB's – and his own – role in supporting European deep tech ventures, the bank's involvement with the EIC Fund, and what the EIB hopes to gain from interacting with EIC Scaling Club companies and stakeholders. Ferré outlines how the bank nurtures scale-ups through their growth journeys, leveraging its vast network to attract additional investors and support until exit.

He also shares his opinion on the companies he saw at the Ignition Forum. Spoiler alert: he was very impressed. 

To find out why and hear more on his and the EIB's involvement in boosting the European deep tech scene, check out the full interview in the video below. For more informative interviews and content, head on over to EIC Scaling Club's YouTube channel. 

About the EIC Scaling Club

The EIC Scaling Club is a curated community where 120+ European deep tech scale-ups with the potential to build world-class businesses and solve major global challenges come together with investors, corporate innovators and other industry stakeholders to spur growth.

The top 120+ European deep tech companies will be carefully selected from a pool of high-growth scale-ups that have benefitted from EIC financial schemes, other European and national innovation programmes, and beyond.

The EIC Scaling Club is an EIC-funded initiative run in partnership by Tech Tour, Bpifrance (EuroQuity), Hello Tomorrow, Tech.eu (Webrazzi), EurA and IESE Business School.

Subscribe to our newsletter here to stay up-to-date!