The focus on the long-term development of the technology ecosystem and digitalization as a driver behind major social transformations is lacking in the Netherlands, as are the resources and ideas to give innovative companies the opportunity to play a role in this. Techleap came to that conclusion today at the IGNITE 2022 Summit.

The ambitions set out in the coalition agreement on “Future Earning” and social transformations will not be realized without effective digitization and innovative start-ups. They are the engine of the new economy. ‘Every sector gets Tesla, Beyond Meat, Amazon, Adyen or Moderna products,’ says Konstantin Van Orange, Techleap.nl’s special envoy.

Startups and large corporations keep the Netherlands innovative and competitive. They are indispensable to gaining power and their social importance will only increase in the coming years. They provide a technology sector that is three times more productive, is growing four times faster and has three times more job growth than other sectors.

And although everyone knows a number of large Dutch tech companies, such as Adyen, Mollie and Philips, unlike in other countries, the long-term development of the Dutch tech ecosystem is not given priority, both in social and government policy, and therefore threatens in several crucial areas. to go further.

From today’s introduction Dutch state of the art report It shows that 2021 has been a growth year for the Dutch tech sector. A total of €5.6 billion was invested in venture capital, three times more than in 2020. There are nearly 11,000 startups and the technology sector is now worth over €300 billion in total. But in the meantime, many startups seem to be faltering, in part due to the availability of talent and access to early stage capital, but also because entrepreneurs often lack ambition and place more emphasis on starting a company and achieving autonomy. Then let it grow successfully.

The report shows that only 21 percent of Dutch startups progress to expansion mode, which is important for long-term career and economic growth. Other countries do much better. Even the conversion rate in the United States is 60 percent.

In the recently introduced coalition agreement, shifts in climate, healthcare, and the circular economy were highlighted and significant resources received. But where the government provides tens of billions to solve the problems surrounding the transitions, the role of the innovative business community in solving these problems is lacking, as are the resources and ideas to allow companies from the new innovative economy to lead this. It is clear that countries such as Germany and France prioritize this in their government policies (such as tax credits for investors), which makes developments in the technology sector in those countries much faster.