The Dutch scale-up ecosystem: Successes, setbacks, and tomorrow's trajectory
February 9, 2024
The Netherlands has established itself as a hub for ambitious tech companies. Both for home-grown scale-ups as well as international giants that consider the Netherlands as their Europe HQ. The country is renowned for its technological advancements and business-friendly environment. With the success of global leaders like Adyen, Booking.com and JustEat Takeaway, the ecosystem of talent, capital and serial founders has been thriving. In this salary benchmark report, we'll explore the Dutch tech ecosystem in more detail.
Scale-ups in the Netherlands are increasingly a significant contributor to job creation, mirroring the trend seen in other tech-centric economies. These innovative ventures have generated over 1.3 million jobs across the country, contributing to economic prosperity and employment opportunities (source: Techleap.nl). Amsterdam, the primary hub for Dutch scale-ups, alone contributes approximately 5.000 new jobs each year, while Rotterdam and Eindhoven collectively add around 3.000 new positions annually (sources: Rotterdam Partners, Brainport Development).
The enterprise value of Dutch scale-ups has become considerable, underscoring their market relevance and growth potential (source: Techleap.nl). Scale-ups in Amsterdam, the pulsating heart of the Dutch scale-up scene, constitute approximately €25B in value, growing 12-18% CAGR. Rotterdam and Eindhoven, known for their specialised industries and technological innovations, follow with enterprise values of €15 billion and €12 billion, and 10-15% CAGR respectively (sources: Rotterdam Partners, Brainport Development).
After years of unprecedented growth in funding into scale-ups across Europe, 2022 and 2023 have posed a more challenging environment. The Netherlands is no exception to this trend. The total funding amount invested grew from €2B in 2020 to an incredible €6.8B in 2021 and declined to €3.6B in 2022 and €1.9B in 2023 year to date. This also had a profound impact on the talent market. Companies have shifted their focus from growth at all cost to profitability. Creating slightly more liquidity in the marketplace and softening the power shift to talent, although competition for great talent remains fierce.
Looking forward, the Dutch scale-up ecosystem is primed for continued evolution and expansion. Its strategic location combined with great digital infrastructure will further stimulate growth of the sector. However, there are also concerns on government policy regarding employee stock participation and the recent initiative to trim the beneficial tax ruling for expats, which has been a major pull for international talent in recent years. As the Dutch scale-up ecosystem progresses, embracing new technologies, fostering entrepreneurship, nurturing collaborations between stakeholders in the ecosystem and investing in talent will be pivotal to unleash its full potential.
The Netherlands has established itself as a hub for ambitious tech companies. Both for home-grown scale-ups as well as international giants that consider the Netherlands as their Europe HQ. The country is renowned for its technological advancements and business-friendly environment. With the success of global leaders like Adyen, Booking.com and JustEat Takeaway, the ecosystem of talent, capital and serial founders has been thriving. In this salary benchmark report, we'll explore the Dutch tech ecosystem in more detail.
Scale-ups in the Netherlands are increasingly a significant contributor to job creation, mirroring the trend seen in other tech-centric economies. These innovative ventures have generated over 1.3 million jobs across the country, contributing to economic prosperity and employment opportunities (source: Techleap.nl). Amsterdam, the primary hub for Dutch scale-ups, alone contributes approximately 5.000 new jobs each year, while Rotterdam and Eindhoven collectively add around 3.000 new positions annually (sources: Rotterdam Partners, Brainport Development).
The enterprise value of Dutch scale-ups has become considerable, underscoring their market relevance and growth potential (source: Techleap.nl). Scale-ups in Amsterdam, the pulsating heart of the Dutch scale-up scene, constitute approximately €25B in value, growing 12-18% CAGR. Rotterdam and Eindhoven, known for their specialised industries and technological innovations, follow with enterprise values of €15 billion and €12 billion, and 10-15% CAGR respectively (sources: Rotterdam Partners, Brainport Development).
After years of unprecedented growth in funding into scale-ups across Europe, 2022 and 2023 have posed a more challenging environment. The Netherlands is no exception to this trend. The total funding amount invested grew from €2B in 2020 to an incredible €6.8B in 2021 and declined to €3.6B in 2022 and €1.9B in 2023 year to date. This also had a profound impact on the talent market. Companies have shifted their focus from growth at all cost to profitability. Creating slightly more liquidity in the marketplace and softening the power shift to talent, although competition for great talent remains fierce.
Looking forward, the Dutch scale-up ecosystem is primed for continued evolution and expansion. Its strategic location combined with great digital infrastructure will further stimulate growth of the sector. However, there are also concerns on government policy regarding employee stock participation and the recent initiative to trim the beneficial tax ruling for expats, which has been a major pull for international talent in recent years. As the Dutch scale-up ecosystem progresses, embracing new technologies, fostering entrepreneurship, nurturing collaborations between stakeholders in the ecosystem and investing in talent will be pivotal to unleash its full potential.
The Netherlands has established itself as a hub for ambitious tech companies. Both for home-grown scale-ups as well as international giants that consider the Netherlands as their Europe HQ. The country is renowned for its technological advancements and business-friendly environment. With the success of global leaders like Adyen, Booking.com and JustEat Takeaway, the ecosystem of talent, capital and serial founders has been thriving. In this salary benchmark report, we'll explore the Dutch tech ecosystem in more detail.
Scale-ups in the Netherlands are increasingly a significant contributor to job creation, mirroring the trend seen in other tech-centric economies. These innovative ventures have generated over 1.3 million jobs across the country, contributing to economic prosperity and employment opportunities (source: Techleap.nl). Amsterdam, the primary hub for Dutch scale-ups, alone contributes approximately 5.000 new jobs each year, while Rotterdam and Eindhoven collectively add around 3.000 new positions annually (sources: Rotterdam Partners, Brainport Development).
The enterprise value of Dutch scale-ups has become considerable, underscoring their market relevance and growth potential (source: Techleap.nl). Scale-ups in Amsterdam, the pulsating heart of the Dutch scale-up scene, constitute approximately €25B in value, growing 12-18% CAGR. Rotterdam and Eindhoven, known for their specialised industries and technological innovations, follow with enterprise values of €15 billion and €12 billion, and 10-15% CAGR respectively (sources: Rotterdam Partners, Brainport Development).
After years of unprecedented growth in funding into scale-ups across Europe, 2022 and 2023 have posed a more challenging environment. The Netherlands is no exception to this trend. The total funding amount invested grew from €2B in 2020 to an incredible €6.8B in 2021 and declined to €3.6B in 2022 and €1.9B in 2023 year to date. This also had a profound impact on the talent market. Companies have shifted their focus from growth at all cost to profitability. Creating slightly more liquidity in the marketplace and softening the power shift to talent, although competition for great talent remains fierce.
Looking forward, the Dutch scale-up ecosystem is primed for continued evolution and expansion. Its strategic location combined with great digital infrastructure will further stimulate growth of the sector. However, there are also concerns on government policy regarding employee stock participation and the recent initiative to trim the beneficial tax ruling for expats, which has been a major pull for international talent in recent years. As the Dutch scale-up ecosystem progresses, embracing new technologies, fostering entrepreneurship, nurturing collaborations between stakeholders in the ecosystem and investing in talent will be pivotal to unleash its full potential.
