PRESS RELEASE
EIF invests in SPOROS Platform, empowering the Circular Economy in Greece and beyond.
- SPOROS, the first Article 9 SFDR (“Dark Green”) Impact Fund in Greece, reaches a final closing at €58 million under the EIF EquiFund II initiative.
- Focuses on industrial innovation, production system transformation, and resource efficiency.
- Supports companies developing scalable solutions to environmental challenges, advancing the Circular Economy and enhancing climate resilience in Greece & Southeast Europe.
Advancing the Circular Economy transition in Greece
Luxembourg / Athens, Greece — 02/04/2026
The European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, officially announced, its investment in SPOROS Platform, an impact investing platform focused on supporting companies advancing the transition towards a Circular Economy in Greece and beyond. The timing of the official announcement is highly symbolic, during the action week for the International Day of Zero Waste established by the UN.
Mr. Ioannis Tsakiris, EIB Vice-President, highlighted that the transition towards circular economy models represents a major opportunity for Europe’s economy and its environmental sustainability. “By supporting SPOROS Platform, the EIB Group is helping strengthen Greece’s capacity to develop innovative companies that combine environmental impact with economic competitiveness. Initiatives such as this contribute to building a more resilient and resource-efficient European economy.”
SPOROS has reached a final close of €58 million under the Sustainability and Social Impact Window of the Equifund II initiative, co-financed by the European Union through the NSRF 2021–2027 and the Competitiveness Programme, tailored to promote impact investing strategies within the Greek ecosystem.
EIF’s commitment to impact investments creating value for the economy and society
The European Investment Fund, being a cornerstone investor in SPOROS Platform, emphasised the importance of strengthening access to finance for innovative companies contributing to the Circular transition.
“We are pleased to support the SPOROS Platform under the EquiFund II initiative, contributing to the growth of the Circular Economy in Greece” said Ms. Marjut Falkstedt, CEO of the European Investment Fund. “By backing innovative companies with practical, scalable solutions, SPOROS helps turn environmental challenges into real opportunities. At the EIF, we remain focused on supporting investments that create value for both the economy and society.”
“The Circular transition is both a necessity and a historic market opportunity for growth, safeguarding resource security and strategic autonomy in our Region, especially during critical times” said Mr. Dimitris Simos, Managing Partner and CEO at SPOROS. “SPOROS supports innovative companies that utilise circularity to achieve competitive edge and scalability. Our investment approach aligns long-term environmental impact with strong financial performance and the requirements of institutional capital. We welcome EIF as a key investor that empowers our mission in Greece and Europe.”
SPOROS Impact Evening at Megaron Hypatia
The announcement of EIF’s investment took place during the SPOROS Impact Evening, a special gathering of SPOROS investors and portfolio in Athens at Megaron Hypatia, named after the female philosopher-mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria, as a powerful symbol of the value of ideas and material that remain in time. The event served as a meeting point for the innovation, sustainability and investment ecosystem, with the participation of EU institution representatives, investors, founders, portfolio companies and market executives.
In his keynote speech, Mr. Ioannis Tsakiris, EIB Vice-President, stressed that the SPOROS approach demonstrates in practice how public capital can catalyze sustainable private investment. “EquiFund II and the EIB Group’s strategy as the European Climate Bank de-risk and incentivize the market, while a partner like SPOROS works to translate this infrastructure into real investments with measurable reductions in emissions, increased resource efficiency, and tangible environmental protection. This strategy must also be fully integrated into the broader innovation ecosystem.”
In his welcome remarks, Mr. Gerasimos Routzounis, President and Chief Investment Officer of SPOROS, framed the fund’s philosophy around a clear conviction: that prosperity rests on two pillars – democracy and private enterprise – and that in both, the real protagonists are ordinary citizens; voters who shape institutions, and entrepreneurs who take risks and create value. “The rest of us: fund managers, bankers, consultants, academics, we are all peripheral – not central. SPOROS was built on this understanding. We are not here to tell entrepreneurs what to do. We are here to support them in doing what they have already decided to do – better, faster, and in a way that creates impact that lasts in time.”
Dr. Harris Lambropoulos, President of the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments (HDBI) and BoD member at EIB and EIF, highlighted that the participation of both HDBI and EIF in SPOROS Platform is “a successful example of partnership between national development institutions and the European investment architecture, demonstrating that Greece has now developed the institutional depth and the investment capability required to support ambitious impact strategies aligned with Europe’s green and sustainable finance agenda”.
Mr. George Passaris, Director, Senior Regional Representative, Greece & Cyprus, at EIF, said that “the final closing of SPOROS is also a new chapter for impact‑driven investment in Greece, with a pioneering team emerging as the kind of investor Greece needs: providing not only financing, but also industrial innovation, environmental sustainability and accountability.”
Mr. Dimitris Simos, Managing Director & CEO at SPOROS, presented in his keynote remarks the SPOROS’ vision for “circularity that pays off”, demonstrating examples from SPOROS growing portfolio, milestones achieved so far and upcoming initiatives. “At SPOROS, we do not see circularity only as an impact theme — we see it as a source of competitive advantage. Companies that use resources more efficiently, redesign supply chains, and apply advanced sustainable technologies tend to build stronger, more resilient business models, targeting fast growing markets. Our portfolio reflects this approach. Our ambition is to establish SPOROS as a leading investment platform in this space across Europe.”
The Impact Evening’s content was structured in three thematic panels:
- The Investors Panel, with the participation of Antigoni Lymperopoulou, CEO of HDBI, Mr. Sergei Jakovlevs, Equity Investments executive at EIF and Mr. Alexandros Karydis-Karandreas, founding Partner of SPOROS, exploring how impact investing serves as a holistic strategy for resilience and value creation in Greece & Europe, in a discussion coordinated by Ms. Marisa Antonopoulou, SPOROS Impact Investment Counsel.
- The Industrial Innovation Panel, with founders of Prisma Electronics and Orbital Systems, SPOROS new portfolio companies, showcasing applications of circular transition via industrial innovation in water, sea and space.
- The Sustainable Agrifood Panel, with founders CEOs of K22 (Nutri Valley), Sapounas (5aDay), PetChef and Plan(e)t Foods sharing insights with Dimitris Simos, on recent industry developments and value creating strategies “planting the seed for impact and growth”.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Andrei Geica, founding Partner and Chief Impact Officer at SPOROS, concluded that today, circularity increasingly becomes a matter of economic sovereignty, resource security and strategic resilience for Greece and Europe. “In a world defined by resource constraints, geopolitical uncertainty, and the need for industrial transformation, the most successful companies will be those that learn to do more with less. And that is exactly the transformation we actively support. We are still at the very beginning of this Circular transformation, a structural shift in how economies will operate in the 21st century. And we are proud that, together with EIF, our investors and our portfolio companies, we are helping to build that future.”
Strengthening Greece’s sustainability & innovation ecosystem
SPOROS Platform targets companies developing scalable solutions that reduce environmental externalities and promote more efficient use of resources. By supporting innovative businesses combining environmental impact with strong commercial potential, the platform aims to contribute to strengthening Greece’s circular economy ecosystem.
SPOROS is managed by SPOROS Impact Ventures AEDAKES, an impact mission-driven & hands-on investment manager based in Athens, led by an experienced team of investment professionals with expertise across venture capital, entrepreneurship and sustainability. The investment team has already deployed capital across 14 investments, headquartered in 5 european countries and 6 out of 13 Greek Peripheries, building a portfolio of companies addressing environmental challenges through commercially viable and scalable solutions, while boosting regional growth and high-quality local jobs.
Investment strategy and focus areas
SPOROS Platform invests in companies operating in sectors related to the circular economy and environmental sustainability, with two core thematic pillars.
- Circular Innovation, by financing startups that integrate advanced resource-efficiency models at the Seed+ and Series A stages.
- Circular Transition, by supporting established SMEs in the process of transforming their production and operational models towards enhanced sustainability, resilience and circularity, prioritising international expansion at the growth stage.
SPOROS concentrates on key sectors including: clean energy and logistics, manufacturing and industrial symbiosis, agri-food and bioeconomy, blue growth and sustainable tourism, as well as cross-sectoral circular enablers that drive substantial resource savings across the value chains. SPOROS addresses a critical funding gap in the €1–6 million range, targeting high-growth productive enterprises that constitute the backbone of the Greek economy and serve as key drivers of employment creation. SPOROS’s investment instruments are primarily paired with robust corporate governance mechanisms, specialised advisory support and capacity-building initiatives tailored to each company.
From a geographic standpoint, SPOROS maintains a dual focus:
- Smart Specialisation Strategy: leveraging the competitive advantages and development priorities of each Region to foster job creation and climate risk reduction.
- Circularity Transfer: attracting innovative circular scale-ups from more mature markets to establish Regional Hubs in Greece, serving the broader Southeast Europe and Middle East region, enhancing employment and driving national economic growth
About EquiFund II
EquiFund II is a follow-up to the successful EquiFund programme launched in 2017. It aims to enhance access to finance for Greek companies by mobilising public and private capital into venture funds that support entrepreneurship, technology transfer, innovation and skills development. The initiative is co-funded by the European Union through the NSRF 2021–2027 and implemented in partnership with the Greek authorities.
About SPOROS Platform
SPOROS Platform is the first Circular Economy Impact Fund in Greece (SFDR Article 9) aligned with EU Taxonomy, with a premium investor base including the HDBI (Green Fund Call), EIF (Equifund II), institutional and strategic sustainable investors from Greece and Europe. The investment team has already completed 14 investments, building a diversified portfolio of companies addressing key environmental and resource challenges in growing markets.
About EIF
The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment.
In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth and employment.
| EIB
Elissavet Zitouniati e.zitouniati@ext.eib.org www.eib.org/press Press Office: +352 4379 21000 press@eib.org |
SPOROS
Alexandros Karydis akarydis@sporosplatform.com https://sporosplatform.com/news/ +30-6937042657 |