Entry of two new partners at LUMO Labs strengthens diversity of successor VC fund
Press release December 21, 2023
EINDHOVEN, The Netherlands – LUMO Labs, the Dutch fund manager behind impact-driven investment funds in emerging technologies, today announced the addition of Dagmar van Ravenswaay Claasen and Sabine Schoorl as Senior Partners for the upcoming LUMO Rise Fund.
With the appointment of these two experienced female investors, LUMO Labs strengthens its partner team with core expertise in the fields of digital security, compliance, impact methodologies, diversity and sustainable cities. At the same time, the decision of LUMO Labs’ founders to expand the partner team with two female partners underlines their belief that diversity within investment funds leads to better decision-making and more innovation.
LUMO Rise Fund invests in startups with technological applications that enable people to take better care of themselves, each other and their environment, to improve the quality of life and well-being of individuals, and to relieve the increasing strain on healthcare, social services and the planet.
The first investments of LUMO Rise Fund are expected mid-2024, and the projected amount of capital the fund will deploy for investments and guidance of startups is approximately €100 million.
The partners and founders of LUMO Labs, Andy Lürling and Sven Bakkes, will remain actively involved as general partners.
“With the arrival of Dagmar and Sabine, we bring in additional knowledge, experience and fresh perspectives that will help the team do an even better job of selecting and guiding the game-changers of tomorrow,” says Andy Lürling. “The networks and years of experience of both in scaling technology companies fit perfectly with the phase we are entering. Dagmar’s and Sabine’s respective sector knowledge is very relevant for us regarding the expansion of our investment focus toward digital security on the technology side and expansion toward climate and sustainability solutions for urban areas with regard to impact objectives.”
“The increasing degree of urbanisation – combined with the rising CO2 emissions in the built environment and the sustainability challenge – is creating gigantic challenges within existing structures and systems,” says Sabine Schoorl. “There is a huge need for innovative solutions for the provisioning, greening and electrification of living spaces, for smarter transport and mobility systems, efficient water and waste management and renewable energy generation and distribution. Opportunities, capital and guidance for startups with applications based on new technologies that can contribute to this are of vital importance.”
“I am looking forward to really making a difference by connecting my network, expertise and energy to the track record and experience of the LUMO Labs team and the extraordinary position they have acquired within the impact startup ecosystem in the Netherlands and far beyond,” Sabine adds.
“Documenting, sharing, and increasing our impact on society and the planet will only become more important for our next fund and for the startups in which we invest,” says Sven Bakkes. “In recent years, Dagmar has proven to be invaluable within our advisory board when it comes to integrity, governance and sustainable finance. From her substantial experience at De Nederlandsche Bank, her involvement in Adyen’s IPO as Director Regulatory Affairs and extensive experience from various funds with startups and scale-ups, she excels in both content and connection. We are very happy to welcome her as a Senior Partner for LUMO Rise Fund.”
“The growth of LUMO Labs over the past period and the diligence of the team towards their portfolio companies and their investors suits me,” said Dagmar. “Sven’s and Andy’s drive and entrepreneurship are contagious, as is their determination that financial returns and social returns on investments in emerging technologies should go hand in hand. I like to make things concrete, especially when it is not easy or self-evident, such as with ambitious impact goals.”
She continues, “My joining as senior partner of LUMO Rise fund has been a well-considered structural improvement to give promising impact-driven startups with innovative technology more momentum and direction.”
“For our current fund, we have not set quotas or made other policies about gender diversity within the teams in which we invest in recent years, but we did make agreements about quality,” said Sven Bakkes. “The result is that if you look at our current portfolio, you will see that approximately 40% of the startups we have invested in have women as (co-)founders. This does not surprise us, but if you compare it to the European average of less than 2%, it is striking, to say the least.”
He concludes: “Andy and I are different personalities, but from the outset, we knew we didn’t need two more guys from Brabant as new partners.”
We will consider further expansion of the LUMO Rise Fund partner team in 2024.
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