7 Key Takeaways About The Dutch Tech Startup Ecosystem You Need To Know

The Dutch tech startup ecosystem has grown steadily over the past five years, establishing itself as one of Europe's most dynamic hubs. However, the Netherlands still has some hurdles to overcome to reach its full potential and compete successfully at the global level.

This is according to TechLeap's annual report on the state of Dutch technology, which helps to quantify and accelerate the development of the ecosystem in the Netherlands.

Here are seven key aspects of the report that you should be aware of:

The Netherlands is home to one of the most successful ecosystems in the EU

In 2022, the Amsterdam Delta region was the leading ecosystem in the European Union, ahead of Paris and Berlin. Globally, it ranks 14th after cities in the US, Asia and Great Britain

However, the rise in valuations of Dutch startups has stagnated.

The country's technology sector fell from fourth to sixth in the world, with a total public market of €0.4 trillion. The Netherlands continues to lead the EU in tech giants ASML, Prosus and Adyen.

Fintech and healthcare were the dominant startup sectors in the country, with the former also having the lowest size. In 2022, the Netherlands had a new unicorn, bringing the total number of unicorns to 1.4 unicorns per million inhabitants. This puts it above France (0.7) and Germany (0.5), but below Sweden (2.4) and the UK (1.7).

The technology sector is growing outside the Amsterdam Delta.

Although Noord-Holland remains the largest startup hub in the country, generating 38% of startup jobs, other local hubs are also growing through regional specialization and mutual cooperation.

For example, in North Brabant, the number of high-tech jobs increased by 27% compared to last year, the number of startups in Utrecht increased by 900, and Gelderland became a leader in food technology.

Jobs are growing, but attracting talent remains a challenge

In 2022, the number of jobs created by startups will reach 135,000, compared to 109,000 in 2020 and 130,000 in 2021. However, attracting technical talent is a challenge for many startups

In particular, the share of technical vacancies that are difficult to fill has increased to 59%. On average, such vacancies remain open for more than 60 days.

This phenomenon has also occurred in other ecosystems, including Sweden, Germany, France, and the United States.

Dutch startups struggle to grow mainly due to a lack of funding

The basic scale factor in the Netherlands (22%) is lower than in other European centers such as Germany (37%), the UK (30%) and France (26%). This is mainly due to lack of capital.

In 2022, total venture capital funding in the Netherlands was €2.6 billion and the average startup funding was €0.26 million. This was significantly lower than other large EU startup ecosystems. For reference, Sweden averages 0.9 million euros per startup.

Despite the Netherlands' success in scientific and academic research, deep technology is one of the most funded sectors, with €0.7 billion in funding in 2022 and a startup scale factor of 23%.

On the other hand, investments in viable startups are on the rise, with more than €1 billion raised in 2022. And investment in all sectors exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

the gender gap

The gender gap continues to be a problem in the industry. Only 10% of Dutch tech startups are run by women, and funding for female entrepreneurs is similarly scarce. Only 0.7% of venture capital investments were attracted - as of 2019 - by firms founded by women, behind the UK (2%), Germany (1.5%) and France (1.2%).

Further growth potential

According to the report, the Dutch technology ecosystem has enormous potential for growth. Specifically, it could create 250,000 jobs and add €400 billion in value by 2030. This can be achieved by supporting the growth and impact of university affiliates, closing the talent and diversity gap, and creating a more sustainable and more internationally integrated venture capitalist. shop

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