🇪🇺 Unlocking Europe's growth - the pension fund and VC roundtable
​Part 1: European Commission | 25 November 2026, 11:00-13:00
Venue: Berlaymont, European Commission, Brussels
​A closed, senior-level meeting convened at the invitation of the European Commission. It is chaired by Kerstin Jorna, Director-General of DG GROW, and co-chaired by Kinga Stanisławska, Chair of Venture Connections and European Women in VC. It marks the launch of the 2026 Pensions and Growth Capital report. The report is produced by Venture Connections and European Women in VC with Investors for Purpose. The NATO Innovation Fund is among its anchor partners.
​This is the second edition. Last year’s meeting brought together pension funds, insurers and institutional investors representing more than €3 trillion in assets. The report opened with forewords from Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, and Kerstin Jorna, Director-General of DG GROW.
​The 2026 meeting continues that conversation at a decisive moment. The European Competitiveness Fund, the Savings and Investments Union and the next Multiannual Financial Framework are all in negotiation. The discussion is convened to hear directly from Europe’s largest pension funds: their priorities, their constraints, and the conditions under which more of Europe’s long-term savings could be deployed at home.
​Part 2: Future Growth Forum | 13:15-18:30
Venue: (re)space European Quarter, Rue de Trèves 74, 1040 Brussels, a 10 minute walk from the Berlaymont
​Participants of the Commission meeting are invited to continue the discussion at the Future Growth Forum. It is convened by Venture Connections and the partners of the 2026 report. Pension funds, venture and growth managers and the companies they back discuss how these partnerships have worked in practice.
​Part 3: Investors' Dinner
By separate invitation.
​Preliminary agenda
10:30 Registration opens at the Berlaymont
11:00-13:00 Meeting with the European Commission
13:15 Registration opens at (re)space
13:30-14:15 Networking lunch at (re)space
14:15-18:30 Future Growth Forum
​Attendance
Attendance at the Commission meeting is by invitation of the European Commission. The room is deliberately small and at the most senior level. Attendees are asked to confirm by RSVP. Those unable to attend in person are invited to nominate a representative of equivalent seniority.
​Attendance at the Future Growth Forum is by invitation of Venture Connections and the partners of the 2026 Pensions and Growth Capital report. It runs under the Chatham House Rule, with asset allocators, venture and growth managers and invited guests.
​Background
The 2025 report
The 2026 Pensions Project
​Contact
For questions, please reach out to Kasia Piasecki (kasia@ventureconnections.co), Barbara Grodzicka (barbara@ventureconnections.co) or Agnieszka Wojdyr (agnieszka.wojdyr@ec.europa.eu).