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. This was explained last Thursday during the IGNITE 2022 Summit for Techleap.nl where her annual Dutch state of the art report Foot.

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, growing four times faster and job growth three times more than other sectors. In addition, they come up with new solutions to major social transformations in climate, healthcare, and the circular economy.

The Netherlands is known as an innovative country and has many technology companies that have come up with new solutions to these major transformations. 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. This was confirmed on Thursday which was released Dutch state of the art report By Sifted (part of the Financial Times) on behalf of Techleap.nl.

The Dutch tech case shows that 2021 was 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% of Dutch startups are progressing towards expansion mode, which is critical for job growth and long-term economic growth. Other countries do much better. Even the United States has a 60% conversion rate. In order to increase the conversion rate and to ensure that Dutch technology companies continue to grow, prerequisites and appropriate investments, especially in the early stage, are essential.

There is a lot of interest in the Netherlands for the major transformations that we will face in the coming years. An example of revolutionary technologies that can provide solutions to this, but have not yet been fully exploited, is deeptech. As a country, we are well positioned to lead in this area with companies like ASML, but Dutch investors in particular seem to be shying away from companies that could lead this in a promising early stage, when they could have a vital impact on growth. innovation in our country.

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.

Konstantin Van Oranje, Special Envoy for Techleap.nl asserts: “The ambitions in the coalition agreement on ‘Future Earning’ and social transformations will not be realized without effective digitization and innovative startups. They are the engine of the new economy. Every sector gets a Tesla, Beyond Meat or Amazon, Adyen or Moderna.The Dutch earning capacity will depend on our ability to facilitate the growth of these types of companies.Currently there is a shortage of early stage capital, IT talent, aspiring entrepreneurs and an effective valuation practice to make it happen.This is The place where the main common challenges lie for government, universities, investors and entrepreneurs.”