The Netherlands Trade and Investment Office proudly introduces the Dutch Startup Hub, known as Startup Delta, featuring seven Dutch companies
The Netherlands is widely regarded as Europe’s largest and best-connected ecosystem for startups. To further build this ecosystem, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs established Startup Delta in 2014 with the goal of turning the Netherlands into Europe’s equivalent of the U.S. West Coast for startups.
Its efforts have not gone unnoticed, with many Dutch startups having received international recognition, such as 3D Hubs, a pioneer in additive manufacturing and the world’s largest online marketplace for 3D printing services, as well as Adyen, a fintech startup that became the first Dutch unicorn by reaching US$1 billion in VC investment. WeTransfer developed a program enabling users to share large digital files easily that is now used worldwide.
The startup landscape in the Netherlands consists of many innovative tech hubs, all with their own strengths and focus. The Compass global ranking of international startups hubs even ranked the Dutch ecosystem as the fourth best anywhere in Europe. The same report also identified Startup Delta as one of the fastest growing ecosystems on the continent, which it said was a result of the country’s belief in open innovation, the strong bond within partnerships between the public and private sectors as well as the fact that the Netherlands was ranked No. 1 in implementing government policies aimed at fostering startups, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Prince Constantijn Van Oranje-Naussau, the younger brother of Dutch monarch King Willem-Alexander and special envoy of Startup Delta, previously said: “In politics there is a lot of talk, but entrepreneurs actually build things, develop new businesses, drive innovation and create jobs. That’s why entrepreneurship is important and that’s why we have to stimulate entrepreneurship in the Netherlands if we want to be competitive in the long run.”
For more information, visit www.startupdelta.org