FEMS

What FEMS does

FEMS (Federation of European Microbiological Societies) is a Dutch-registered not-for-profit scientific federation established in 1974, headquartered in Delft, Netherlands. It operates as a coalition of 50+ national and regional microbiological societies spanning 40 countries, governed by a Board of Trustees and Council with representatives drawn from member societies. Antonio Ventosa has served as President since January 2024 and Elise Kuurstra as Executive Director since November 2022.

The federation's core offering is a portfolio of six not-for-profit peer-reviewed journals — FEMS Microbiology Letters, FEMS Microbiology Reviews, FEMS Microbiology Ecology, FEMS Yeast, FEMS Microbes, and FEMS microLife — published in partnership with Oxford University Press with open access options. Beyond publishing, FEMS runs the FEMS MICRO Congress & Exhibition (Europe's premier microbiology congress, rotating cities such as Milan 2025 and Ljubljana 2027), the FEMS Summer School for Postdocs, FEMS Regional COLLAB events, FEMS Webinars, the Microbes and Us podcast, the #FEMSmicroBlog, International Microorganism Day outreach, and the European Academy of Microbiology (EAM). It also administers a multi-program grants portfolio (Congress Attendance, Research and Training, Industry Placement, Meeting Attendance, Meeting Organiser) and recognition awards including the FEMS-Lwoff, FEMS-Jensen, FEMS-ASM Mäkelä-Cassell, and Science Communication Awards.

FEMS's revenue model is characteristic of a member-funded scientific society: income derives from member society dues, article processing charges and journal royalties via OUP, congress registration and sponsorship, grants administration, and partnership contributions. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed in the available sources. Distribution is executed through direct member society channels, the OUP-hosted journals portal, the myFEMS and Collaboration Portal member platforms, and event registration. The organization has no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no equity ownership structure.

Name

FEMS

Legal name

Federation of European Microbiological Societies

Website

https://fems-microbiology.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

FEMS is a Dutch not-for-profit federation of 50+ microbiological societies across 40 countries, founded in 1974, that supports the microbiology research community through six peer-reviewed journals, congresses, grants, and awards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Association & Open Access Microbiology Publishing

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

International Science, Technology & Space Cooperation Organizations (BPADAAAK)

Keywords

• Academic publishing services
• Microbiology research grants
• Scientific conference organization
• Professional membership federation
• Open access journals

Headquarters

HQ city

Delft

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

FEMS is a not-for-profit federation that supports the microbiology community through scientific publishing (six open access FEMS Journals), events (FEMS MICRO Congress & Exhibition, FEMS Regional COLLAB, FEMS Summer School for Postdocs, FEMS Webinars), grants (Congress Attendance, Research and Training, Industry Placement, Meeting Attendance, Meeting Organiser Grants), awards and recognition, the European Academy of Microbiology (EAM) fellowship, and outreach programming (International Microorganism Day, #FEMSmicroBlog, Microbes and Us Podcast).

Product overview

FEMS (Federation of European Microbiological Societies) is a not-for-profit scientific membership organization established in 1974, comprising 50+ Member Societies from 40 countries. The organization offers a portfolio of scientific publishing products (FEMS Journals - six open access journals including FEMS Microbiology Letters, FEMS Microbiology Reviews, FEMS Microbiology Ecology, FEMS Yeast, FEMS Microbes, and microLife), professional development programs (FEMS Summer School for Postdocs, FEMS Grants Program), events (FEMS MICRO Congress & Exhibition, FEMS Regional COLLAB, FEMS Webinars), recognition programs (FEMS Awards including Lwoff, Jensen, and Mäkelä-Cassell awards), outreach initiatives (International Microorganism Day, #FEMSmicroBlog, Microbes and Us Podcast), and member services (myFEMS Portal, Collaboration Portal, Opportunities Board). The organization also houses the European Academy of Microbiology (EAM), an elite body of leading experts. These offerings work together to advance microbiology research, support career development, and promote scientific collaboration across Europe and globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FEMS Journals: Open access journals including FEMS Microbiology Letters, FEMS Microbiology Reviews, FEMS Microbiology Ecology, FEMS Yeast, FEMS Microbes, and FEMS microLife
• FEMS MICRO
• Microbes and Us
• FEMSmicroBlog
• International Microorganism Day

Products and services

• FEMS Journals A suite of six not-for-profit, open access, peer-reviewed microbiology journals (FEMS Microbiology Letters, FEMS Microbiology Reviews, FEMS Microbiology Ecology, FEMS Yeast, FEMS Microbes, and microLife) published in partnership with Oxford University Press, serving microbiologists globally.
• FEMS MICRO Congress & Exhibition Europe's premier annual congress and exhibition for microbial research and collaboration, bringing together microbiologists, innovators, and policy-makers through themed sessions, networking, and exhibitions focused on growing microbial futures.
• FEMS Summer School for Postdocs An intensive professional development and training program for early-career microbiologists featuring collaboration, training, and scientific exchange over multiple days.
• FEMS Regional COLLAB Regional collaborative events designed to expand networks and shape new collaborations among microbiology researchers across different geographical areas.
• FEMS Webinars Online seminar series covering various microbiology topics, featuring expert presentations on microbial biology, environmental microbiology, and other areas across the FEMS journals.
• European Academy of Microbiology (EAM) An elite body of leading microbiology experts elected to advance the field through symposia, publications, and expert consultation on scientific matters, operating as part of the FEMS network.
• FEMS Grants Program Comprehensive funding opportunities for microbiology researchers, including Congress Attendance Grants, Research and Training Grants, Industry Placement Grants, Meeting Attendance Grants, and Meeting Organiser Grants.
• FEMS Awards Recognition programs for microbiology researchers, including the FEMS-Lwoff Award, FEMS-Jensen Award, FEMS-ASM Mäkelä-Cassell Award, Outstanding Early Career Microbiologist Award, and Science Communication Award.
• International Microorganism Day A global outreach initiative celebrating microorganisms and promoting public understanding of microbiology, held annually on September 17 and featuring citizen science projects and educational events.
• Opportunities Board A curated job, events, and resource board providing listings for career opportunities, conferences, grants, educational resources, and peer review resources for the microbiology community.
• myFEMS Portal Member portal providing access to account management, newsletter subscriptions, communications preferences, and exclusive member benefits for registered FEMS members.
• FEMS Collaboration Portal Online community platform enabling collaboration, networking, and knowledge sharing among FEMS member societies and individual members of the microbiology community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300,000 women and girls educated through social impact programs (associated initiative)

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Oxford University Press (OUP)coreTechnology or IntegrationFEMS Journals are published in partnership with Oxford University Press, providing not-for-profit society publishing with open access options. OUP hosts the FEMS Journals Portal and supports the publishing infrastructure for six microbiology journals.
• European Academy of Microbiology (EAM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe European Academy of Microbiology is part of the FEMS network, with EAM Fellows selected from leading microbiologists. EAM organizes its own meetings and symposia, and FEMS Council announced leadership changes including Professor Cecília M. Arraiano as new EAM President.
• American Society for Microbiology (ASM)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerASM and FEMS collaborate on the FEMS-ASM Mäkelä-Cassell Travel Award, supporting early career microbiologists. FEMS received recognition from ASM, indicating a strong bilateral relationship between the two major microbiology societies.
• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFEMS supported the launch of IUCN's first global microbial conservation specialist group, indicating collaboration on environmental microbiology and conservation issues.
• Member Societies (50+ from 40 countries)coreOthersFEMS is a coalition of 50+ national and regional microbiological societies from 40 countries, representing the broadest distribution network for serving microbiology researchers across Europe and beyond.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• American Society for Microbiology (ASM): ASM is the largest U.S.-based professional society for microbiologists, publishing multiple journals (e.g., mBio, JCM), running major conferences (ASM Microbe), and offering grants and awards. ASM and FEMS are explicitly partners (e.g., the Mäkelä-Cassell Travel Award), confirming they are direct comparables in the same product category and member base.
• Microbiology Society (UK): The Microbiology Society is a UK-based charity supporting microbiologists through journals (Microbiology, Journal of General Virology), conferences (Annual Conference), and grants. It directly parallels FEMS in mission, member-driven governance, publishing, and event programming within microbiology.
• International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS): IUMS is the global federation of national microbiological societies under ISC, organizing international congresses and promoting microbiology worldwide. It is a direct peer as a multilateral scientific federation serving microbiological societies, overlapping with FEMS's coalition-of-societies model.

Broad incumbents

• European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO): EMBO is a larger, well-funded European organization promoting excellence in the life sciences, running EMBO Press journals, fellowships, and courses. It is comparable to FEMS as a Europe-based life-sciences membership organization with publishing, grants, and conferences, but at greater scale and broader scope.
• American Chemical Society (ACS): ACS is a much larger scientific society with a portfolio of journals, national meetings, and grants. It is comparable as a member-driven scientific publisher and event organizer but operates across chemistry broadly rather than FEMS's narrow microbiology niche.
• Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature): Nature Portfolio (Nature Microbiology, Nature Reviews Microbiology) is a dominant commercial publisher in the microbiology space. It is comparable to FEMS Journals as a high-impact microbiology publishing venue but at vastly larger scale, commercial scope, and brand.

Emerging players

• PLOS (Public Library of Science): PLOS is a major open-access publisher with journals spanning biology and medicine, including microbiology. It is comparable as an open-access publishing competitor to FEMS Journals but is broader in scope and operates as a for-profit/open-access publisher rather than a society publisher.

Regional players

• Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL): CSHL is a U.S.-based research and educational institution running major scientific conferences, courses, and journals (Genes & Development, RNA). It is comparable to FEMS as a convening/educational organization in the life sciences but is primarily U.S.-focused rather than European.

Others

• Wellcome Trust: Wellcome is a major biomedical philanthropy funding research, including in microbiology and infectious disease. It is comparable to FEMS as a funding ecosystem participant that supports microbiology research and open science, but as a funder rather than a membership society.
• Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation: The Moore Foundation funds initiatives including the Symbiosis in Aquatic Systems Initiative, which FEMS promotes through its Opportunities Board. It is comparable as an enabling funder in the microbiology ecosystem, providing grant capital that flows partly through FEMS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FEMSmicro
• YouTubeyoutube.com/FEMSTV
• Facebookfacebook.com/FEMSmicro
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/federation-of-european-microbiological-societies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about FEMS