It’s no secret that the Netherlands is a flourishing ecosystem for start-ups and scale-ups. Particularly the province of South Holland — with its business and tech hotspots in Rotterdam and Delft — is home to many innovative companies who seek to make a sustainable impact.
A recent report published by Techleap showed that, for the Dutch tech industry to reach its full potential, it must focus on attracting talent, securing capital, boosting development, and connecting the community. This year’s edition of Upstream made it its mission to help entrepreneurs overcome exactly these challenges.
The start-up event, organized by UP!Rotterdam and its partners took place on May 23-25 in the halls of Rotterdam’s cultural venue Poppodium Annabel. Over 2,000 international start-up and scale-up founders, students, investors, and policymakers joined to network, exchange ideas and discuss potential collaboration. The three-day program was split into ‘Talent Tuesday’, ‘Capital Wednesday’, and ‘Growth Thursday’.
Changemakers at the core
“Connecting changemakers is what it’s all about,” Lars Crama, Chief Changemaker at Upstream, told Innovation Origins, clarifying the festival’s goal of helping start-ups and scale-ups expand quickly. “We focus on three pillars: talent, capital, and markets. But there’s a fourth pillar, the most important one. And that’s what the whole of Upstream is about. It’s about connecting you to peers and networks.”
Since its debut in 2020, Upstream’s unifying theme has been ‘sustainable growth’. Rather than spreading the message that high-leveraged ‘unicorn’ companies are the only ones able to make an impact, the event’s organizers prefer to even the playing field: “We’re here for everybody, but we focus particularly on those that drive energy transition, circular economy or inclusion,” Crama added.
Much professional networking occurred in Annabel’s main hall, where more than 70 exhibitors set up their booths. Depending on the day, the companies were either looking to hire talent, invest in start-ups or introduce themselves as potential clients.
Investment is more than just capital
Wednesday started with an announcement made by the municipality of Rotterdam and UNIIQ, a 28.8 million euro investment fund focusing on helping entrepreneurs get their break during the proof-of-concept phase. “I’m here especially to announce that the municipality of Rotterdam is investing an additional 2.6 million euros into the UNIIQ fund,” said Task Manager of Innovation at the municipality of Rotterdam Robert Tans during the announcement speech. “Our economy is also in a transition towards a new economy. And therefore, you need start-ups. Why? Because they come up with new solutions.”
UNIIQ was not the only investment company present that supports entrepreneurs in their early stages. Graduate Entrepreneur, a platform that works with recent graduates of Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus MC and TU Delft, aims to do the same with its pre-seed fund of 7 million euros, which is headed by a student board.
Enthusiastic founders
One member of this board is Noah Papas, a recent econometrics graduate from Erasmus University. Along with his 13 colleagues, he invests in Rotterdam and Delft-based start-ups active in health tech, deep tech, green tech or digital tech: “Our focus on alumni from the TU Delft, Erasmus MC, Erasmus University region is quite specific, so our investment scope is quite broad,” he explained. “We really look for just very enthusiastic founders who have a deep, deep passion for problems they’re solving.”
In addition to capital, Graduate Entrepreneur also offers coaching opportunities, a service it offered start-up founders during the event: “We would also like to provide start-ups with access to coaching from the big alumni network that we have,” Papas continued. “We can help with either coaching or maybe starting an investment process if we liked their proposition.”
It’s safe to say that some of the founders who attended Upstream were also interested in more than just investment. “I’m looking for mentorship on marketing and access to very talented experts in 3D modeling,” said Vadym Antsyferov, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Sellbery, a multi-channel listing platform for e-commerce.
Antsyferov wants to create a marketplace for Gen Z, allowing this demographic to first watch videos about products they may be interested in and then try them on pre-purchase through means of Augmented Reality. Originally from Ukraine, he settled in the Netherlands partially due to its international-friendly entrepreneurial ecosystem.
South Holland as start-up heaven?
In 2022, the province of South Holland recorded over 1,300 start-ups, with more than 150 registered as being impact-driven due to their focus on sustainability, circularity or the energy transition, according to Techleap. And it seems as if this ecosystem has been evolving for the better.
“I really feel like there’s a lot more happening nowadays than a couple of years ago,” explained Steven Aanen, co-founder and CTO of Obeyo, a property technology company that grants real estate operators with an app to communicate more efficiently with their tenants.
“There are more people that are well connected, more access to investors, talent… and that’s pretty cool to see,” Aanen continued. “Where previously, I think you really needed to be based in Amsterdam or any one of the other ecosystems in Europe, I think the chances are increasing for start-ups now to basically work from here.”
First Hydrogen Inland Shipping Vessel Launch
While Upstream’s main program took place at Annabel, this edition also held its fair share of events sprinkled throughout the cities of Rotterdam, Delft, Schiedam and Ridderkerk in a further attempt to bring the community together.
One example on the schedule was the launch of the world’s first hydrogen inland container vessel at BlueCity, a hub of circular small businesses concentrated in a previously abandoned swimming pool on the Maas River. The vessel — which has been dubbed H2 Barge 1 — is now set to sail between the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp on zero emissions.
“Welcome everyone to what we think is a pivotal moment in the history of inland shipping,” said Richard Klatten during the launch event. He is the CEO of Future Proof Shipping, the company behind the creation of the vessel. “We’ve established something quite unique. It’s the first vessel on hydrogen in the world, and the first step towards a real sustainable inland vessel industry.”
The H2 Barge 1 is also the first to be granted a zero-emission label. Visitors and collaborators gathered next to the Maas to watch the hoisting of a flag that celebrated this achievement before being able to descend into the vessel to see it up close.
Considering this zero-emission feat, BlueCity as a launch venue was a fitting choice, as it is a key player in the sustainable growth of Rotterdam. The collective is made up of a number of circular start-ups, including Fruitleather — which makes leather out of fruit — and Alga.Farm — which grows vitamin-rich spirulina.
These are just two examples of entrepreneurs that make use of nature to solve problems in a sustainable way. Crama hopes that this will also play a key role in Upstream’s future: “I’m hoping that we can find more ways to use nature and technology together. The problems out there are so big, and I think nature is actually the most sophisticated technology there is. That’s my personal challenge opportunity. I hope that Upstream will bring those worlds together.”
The next edition of Upstream is scheduled for May 28-30, 2024.
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