The EIF’s 4th Pillar initiative to attract private funding: An independent evaluation
Publication date: 1 June 2026 | Report language: EN
The independent evaluation of the EIF’s 4th Pillar initiative was commissioned by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and assesses the programme’s effectiveness in attracting private institutional investors into European private equity and venture capital markets between 2017 and 2023.
Originally launched to diversify and strengthen the EIF’s funding base, the initiative evolved to support broader EU policy objectives by mobilising private capital towards underserved and higher-risk market segments. The evaluation finds that the 4th Pillar successfully demonstrated the EIF’s capacity to engage risk-averse institutional investors new to the asset class and raised €1 billion over the evaluation period. At the same time, the initiative remained limited in scale and did not achieve sustained private capital mobilisation in line with its fundraising ambitions.
The report concludes that future efforts to expand institutional investment into European venture capital will require a substantially revised strategic and operational approach. It sets out four recommendations focused on clarifying objectives, strengthening senior leadership engagement, improving market validation processes, and establishing a dedicated and continuous investor relations function.
Authors: Jérôme Treperman, Elisabeth Zaparucha, Jo Slota-Newson.
