Who we are and what we bring to the table

Our mission

Through its investments, AIF wishes to contribute directly or indirectly to a stronger and more sustainable agriculture and horticulture.

Central to this are a sustainable income for the farmer, a solid anchoring in the regional chain and finally a positive recognition of the product by society.

Our investments have a focus within the Ag-Tech and Agro-Food domains aiming at stimulating innovation in and further improving sustainability of agriculture and horticulture.

Our added value

Based on its mission to stimulate innovation, AIF starts investing in an early phase (from start-up) and is prepared to support its participations through successive capital rounds until the innovations come to market.

As a committed partner with a long-term vision, AIF mainly looks at active investments in which a director’s mandate is included to achieve a maximum transfer of knowledge, vision and experience.

Being anchored within the Boerenbond group allows us to address a large network and to provide professional advice on various agricultural sectors.

With our investments, we ultimately want to further develop the sector into a strong and sustainable sector: both economically, ecologically and socially.

Positive impact on agriculture, environment and society

Long term investor

Strong agricultural network

Our history

Since its foundation in 1890, Boerenbond has grown into a solid professional organization that defends the interests of farmers and horticulturists, and guides them so they can overcome the challenges of the sector more resiliently. Throughout the rich history of Boerenbond, several companies were founded aimed at providing qualitative and necessary services and products to agriculture and horticulture. Although these companies work in line with the market, they have never lost sight of the interests of their most important stakeholder, the farmer and horticulturalist, based on a cooperative spirit. Today, these strategically important companies are grouped under the holding company M.R.B.B.

Agri Investment Fund (AIF) was established within M.R.B.B in 2007 with the specific assignment of investing in companies that can offer an added value to agriculture and horticulture in Flanders and German-speaking Belgium. This assignment of AIF is complementary at the one hand to the activities of Boerenbond and at the other hand to those of the other strategic companies within the holding company M.R.B.B.

Today, AIF’s mission is more important than ever. Agriculture and horticulture are torn between an ever-growing global need for food at the one hand and an even stronger growing need for solutions that reduce the environmental impact of the sector at the other. The attractiveness and profitability of the agricultural sector are under severe pressure. By investing in innovation, AIF wants to help provide the necessary solutions to agriculture and horticulture.

Boerenbond has grown from a cooperative mindset. At AIF, we continue this tradition and we like to focus on strong and thorough partnerships. In this way, we bring together as many competences as possible, build the necessary bridges and ensure that the benefits are distributed fairly.

Our partner network

As a full-service HR services group, Acerta supports entrepreneurs in every phase of their growth process.

Arvesta is the largest Belgian full-service partner for farmers and horticulturalists with a strong international network that continues to grow.

Biotope, hosted by VIB, is an incubator program for start-ups with innovative and impactful ideas in agri-food biotechnology.

Boerenbond is the professional organization of and for every farmer, horticulturalist and green provider in Flanders and East Belgium.

SBB guides companies, liberal professions and organizations in social profit in achieving their objectives, in which it helps to shape every step of the entrepreneurial process.

Submit a project application?

Do you have a project for which you are looking for investors? Don’t hesitate to contact us, we would be happy to see if and how we can help!