TechLeap.NL is going to replace StartupDelta as the organisation to push Dutch start-ups on an international level. Prince Constantijn van Oranje, who currently leads StartupDelta, says he wants to turn the Netherlands into a ‘unicorn nation’. “With TechLeap.NL, the Netherlands is running for European leadership in tech. Being one interconnected delta we’re in a position where we can work as one unit to push the Netherlands forward together.”
Mona Keijzer, state secretary of Economic Affairs and Climate: “The success of the Netherlands is driven by an international culture of openness, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. With this new action plan, we want to build the best ecosystem in Europe.”
As a leading innovation nation, the Netherlands wants to play a bigger role in developing solutions for a better world and building companies that can make a positive impact on a global scale, Constantijn said today at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2019 in The Hague. To ensure this, the Dutch government launched a broad package of measures and a new initiative: TechLeap.NL, a collective effort to bolster the growth of Dutch scale-ups.
2018 was a good year for the Netherlands, Constantijn said. He mentioned the Dutch rise in the Genome Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking (from #19 in 2017 to #15 in 2019), as well as high growth in funding, startup output, and strong performance in Life Sciences and Deep Tech. This rise was partly due to the successful exits of Adyen and Elastic.
To ensure the emergence of new ‘unicorn’-start-ups, the Dutch government promised to offer €65 million for start-up- and scale-ups-policies. A list of actions also includes an adjustment of the stock option tax regime by moving the moment of taxation to the moment of disposal, the appointment of six start-up liaisons in six priority international metropolitan areas (‘hubs’) and a pilot for the granting of a residence permit for key personnel of a start-up, originating from outside the EU.
TechLeap.NL
As part of the plan, the government also launched TechLeap.NL as the successor of StartupDelta. Its program will focus on knowledge development about the start-up ecosystem, creating new initiatives in the ecosystem and connecting Dutch top scale-ups with investors. The emphasis will be on the themes of capital, talent, and market in relation to rapid growth. TechLeap.NL’s Special Envoy will be Prince Constantijn van Oranje, who has also fulfilled this role at StartupDelta over the past three years.
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