What Urban Impact Ventures does

Urban Impact Ventures is a Dutch venture capital firm founded in 2020 and headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, that invests in early-stage and expansion-stage companies accelerating the sustainable urban transformation of European cities. The firm operates a single fund vehicle, UIV Fund I Coöperatief U.A., managed by UIV Fund Management B.V., and pursues two core investment themes: decarbonization and circularity, with alignment to five UN Sustainable Development Goals core to urban quality of life plus additional SDGs on gender equality and inclusive economic growth. Its disclosed portfolio spans urban infrastructure (Hardt), circular economy and sustainable consumer goods (BIYU), green technology (Futr/future.green), clean energy (Ibispower), and urban mobility (Modeshift).

The firm does not develop proprietary technology products; its core capability is investment expertise and impact measurement, centered on a proprietary impact rating system that tracks core positive, additional positive, and material negative impacts at both investee and portfolio/fund level throughout the investment lifecycle. The firm's revenue model is standard venture capital: management fees on assets under management earned by UIV Fund Management B.V., plus a performance fee (carried interest) that is structurally linked to impact outcomes — if the portfolio impact rating at exit falls below 7.5/10, the performance fee is subject to a malus of up to 50%, aligning financial incentives with measurable sustainability results.

The team of approximately 12-13 professionals is led by Managing Partner Hans van Houwelingen (former CEO of ACTIAM NV, a sustainable and impact asset manager with €65 billion AUM) and includes Partners Korstiaan Zandvliet, Hristo Valev, and Christiaan Leussink, plus a Venture Partner, an Investment Associate, and 5-6 Advisors with backgrounds at ING, NN Investment Partners, Standard Chartered Ventures, IFC-World Bank, ABN AMRO, Deloitte, TU Delft, and JP Morgan. Deal sourcing is event-driven and community-led, leveraging an Urban Network (headed by Nadia Soultanova), active participation in European cleantech and urban innovation conferences (Smart City Expo Barcelona, Tech Tour, World Hydrogen Forum, Reset Connect London, SLUSH, CEE/DACH forums), Endeavor mentorship relationships, and a Typeform intake form on the company website. The firm is a UN PRI signatory since September 2021 and is compliant with the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

Name

Urban Impact Ventures

Legal name

Urban Impact Ventures

Website

https://uiventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Urban Impact Ventures is a Dutch venture capital firm founded in 2020 that invests early-stage and expansion-stage capital in European companies accelerating urban decarbonization and circularity, managing UIV Fund I and serving institutional LPs seeking measurable sustainability outcomes alongside financial returns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

The Hague

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees: Urban Impact Ventures (via its fund management entity UIV Fund Management B.V.) earns management fees on assets under management as a standard VC fund manager.
2. Performance Fee (Carried Interest): Performance fee is directly linked to impact targets. If the portfolio (fund) impact rating at exit falls below 7.5 out of 10, the performance fee is subject to a malus of up to 50%, aligning financial incentives with impact outcomes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Urban Impact Ventures is a Dutch venture capital firm that deploys blended capital and domain expertise through its UIV Fund I into early-stage and expansion-stage companies accelerating sustainable urban transformation in Europe. Investments focus on two themes — Decarbonization and Circularity — with measurable alignment to UN Sustainable Development Goals. The firm pairs financial capital with impact measurement, business development support, and a remuneration structure that ties carried interest to portfolio impact ratings.

Product overview

Urban Impact Ventures is a venture capital firm operating as a single investment fund structure (UIV Fund I Coöperatief U.A.) that provides blended capital and expertise to innovative, scalable businesses working on sustainable urban solutions. The firm focuses on two investment themes—Decarbonization and Circularity—to improve urban quality of life in Europe. The product portfolio consists of their core fund offering and associated impact measurement and reporting services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• UIV Fund I Primary investment vehicle providing blended capital and impact-domain expertise to early-stage and expansion-stage companies accelerating urban sustainability transformation in Europe across the Decarbonization and Circularity themes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Remuneration policy directly links performance fee to impact rating — if portfolio impact rating at exit is below 7.5/10, performance fee is subject to malus of up to 50%
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)coreOthers · 8 September 2021Urban Impact Ventures became an official signatory of the PRI in September 2021, committing to incorporate ESG and responsible investment practices in its investment decision-making and publicly demonstrating its pledge to deploy venture capital towards sustainable and inclusive transformation of cities.
• EndeavorminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerManaging Partner Hans van Houwelingen serves as a Mentor at Endeavor, the leading global high-impact entrepreneurship movement. This provides access to a network of high-growth entrepreneurs and potential deal flow.
• European Commission (Horizon 2020)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner Korstiaan Zandvliet was appointed as a Horizon 2020 Reviewer on behalf of the European Commission in 2016, providing expertise in alternative finance and start-up evaluation. This connection reinforces the firm's engagement with EU innovation funding ecosystem.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cycle Capital: North American cleantech VC investing across energy, circular economy, and industrial decarbonisation with European portfolio activity. Comparable on cleantech venture mandate and impact reporting discipline.
• URBAN-X: Urban tech accelerator originally spun out of Sidewalk Labs targeting startups reimagining city infrastructure, mobility, and sustainability. Comparable due to its narrow urban innovation focus, though structured as an accelerator rather than a traditional fund.
• Pale Blue Dot Ventures: Malmö-based early-stage European VC backing climate and impact startups with measurable sustainability outcomes. Comparable due to early-stage European impact mandate and outcome-oriented investing.
• Planet A Ventures: Hamburg-based impact and deep tech VC backing science-based European startups addressing environmental and sustainability challenges. Comparable on early-stage European impact mandate and measurable impact orientation.
• Extantia: Berlin-based climate tech VC investing in early-to-growth European companies accelerating decarbonisation. Comparable on European climate-tech stage range and thematic specialisation.
• World Fund: Berlin-based early-stage European VC investing in climate tech founders decarbonising and reindustrialising Europe. Comparable on stage focus and European thematic specialisation, though typically at slightly larger fund and check sizes.
• 2150: Copenhagen-based urban tech VC investing in startups developing sustainable, resilient, and liveable cities. Closest thematic peer to Urban Impact Ventures given its dedicated urban sustainability mandate in Europe.

Broad incumbents

• Demeter: Largest European cleantech VC firm investing seed-to-growth across energy, mobility, circular economy, and agritech. Comparable on decarbonisation and circularity themes but operates with broader stage range and significantly larger fund vehicles.
• Lightrock: Global impact investor affiliated with KKR deploying growth capital into companies delivering measurable social and environmental outcomes. Comparable on outcome-oriented mandate, though substantially larger and broader than UIV's early-stage urban focus.

Emerging players

• Lowercarbon Capital: US-based climate tech VC investing across decarbonisation and carbon removal themes globally. Comparable on decarbonisation mandate, though US-anchored and operating with larger fund vehicles.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments10 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Urban Impact Ventures