Ageas Portugal supports start-ups with a social purpose
When Ageas Portugal Group invested in Portugal’s first venture capital fund Mustard Seed MAZE (MSM), it became the largest corporate investor for impact start-ups.
MSM invests exclusively in technical start-ups that respond directly to social and environment challenges. Through its investment and collaboration with MSM, Ageas Portugal Group gains access to a range of start-ups, who bring to the table exciting new opportunities in the insurance space, and beyond. This allows us to diversify our product and services and to bring sustainability to the heart of the business.
Just like the traditional venture capital funds, returns matter of course. Investment is focused on start-ups that are expected to generate a satisfactory return for the long term. But in the case of MSM this goes a step further. MSM distinguishes itself from its peers by:
- only investing in innovative solutions that respond to societal challenges,
- defining impact objectives with the start-ups of its portfolio,
- and by its management structure, which conditions the receipt of dividends from investments to meet these impact objectives.
In 2021 MSM paid tribute to Head of Strategy, Innovation and Sustainability at Ageas Portugal Group, Katrien Buys, awarding her the “Maze Runner” award. Each year this special Maze award seeks to recognise the “relentless efforts of an individual in tackling social and environmental challenges”.
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