Focus on agriculture, healthcare and finance
Through the Impact Fund, we invest in initiatives that are aligned with Achmea. Founded as a cooperative insurance company for farmers, Achmea has grown into a major financial services provider and the largest health insurer in the Netherlands and so the focus is on agriculture, healthcare and financial services.
Focus on Africa
There is a deep gulf between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. In Africa in particular, few of the population are yet benefitting sufficiently from economic growth and this is changing only very slowly. Furthermore, Africa has close geographical and historical links with Europe and the Netherlands. It’s a small world and the Netherlands and Africa are in mutually dependent ecosystems: the dynamism in these countries is also highly relevant for the Netherlands. Consequently, the Achmea Foundation deliberately chooses to work actively to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable people in these countries, which, as emerging markets, are also developing a new relationship with Europe.
Focus on innovation
The Achmea Foundation promotes promising innovations with the potential for a high impact on vulnerable target groups. We also provide ‘venture capital’ for initiatives that find it difficult to raise funding, perhaps because they have not yet proven to be effective. We are always looking for sustainable investments; initiatives which over time can advance on their own, no longer needing to rely on donations.
Aiming for impact
It is important that we invest in those initiatives that have the greatest impact on socio-economic conditions. Furthermore, we only invest in initiatives based on a potential business model. Initiatives need to be sustainable in the sense that they can continue to operate independently and grow after investment by the Achmea Foundation, so that local people can continue to make use of their services and/or products in future.