Dutch Startup Association, TeachLeap, KPMG Nederland, Golden Egg Check, Dealroom, and ROM's, released the very first quarterly report (2021 H1) for the Dutch entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The report showcases that, even during the COVID-19 crisis, the Dutch entrepreneurial ecosystem surpassed previous achievements. In the first half of 2021, Dutch startups raised more than 3 billion euros, breaking a new record. 

However, even if the entrepreneurial ecosystem in The Netherlands was able to establish new records when it comes to funding, most of them have been achieved via foreign investors, leaving The Netherlands in stiff competition with neighboring countries. As stated in our most recent press release (in Dutch), it is imperative for The Netherlands to take the right steps to make investing in Dutch startups more attractive. 

To make Dutch start-ups and scale-ups more attractive for investments, is it necessary to transform the overall entrepreneurial ecosystem. This could be done by making the tax scheme better and more attractive for local investments or by offering stock options to employees as a more attractive compensation scheme.

Dutch Startup Association's president, Lucien Burm, highlighted this issue during NOS's radio show (in Dutch). Het Financieele Dagblad's article (in Dutch) and NOS's report (in Dutch) also vocalized this matter.