It shouldn’t come as a surprise that we hear more and more people talk about ‘entrepreneurship ecosystems’ and ways to support innovative startups, not only in the Netherlands but worldwide. Countries around the world are trying to foster economic growth, job creation and innovation. It is widely known that entrepreneurship and startups play a key role in achieving this. There is a lot of discussion taking place, but we also found that only a few people actually have a clear view of what is happening in the ecosystem. Even in a relatively small ecosystem like the Netherlands (which is technically as big as Silicon Valley), a clear overview is often lacking.
Without a common understanding of what the ecosystem actually entails, constructive discussion is difficult. So even though the Netherlands has one of the best ecosystems for entrepreneurs in the world, miscommunication and fragmentation remain. To change this we developed the Startup Infrastructure Diagram (SID): a powerful visual to show the essence of the ecosystem.
The Startup Infrastructure Diagram shows the organisations and programmes that form the supporting infrastructure of a startup ecosystem in a specific geographical location. Based on in-depth research and testing, 5 categories were determined that should form the basis of the infrastructure of any ecosystem.
It’s important to note that we do not look at all stakeholders in the ecosystem, but instead highlight those who form the basis of the ecosystem and focus on supporting and strengthening the infrastructure of the national ecosystem, or who support startups directly.
Curious to see what the Startup Infrastructure Diagram of the Netherlands looks like in detail? Download the diagram here. This is a work in progress, so please send us any suggestions for changes.
During the StartupDelta Summit on the 19th of April, where the whole ecosystem comes together, we will present a new edition of the Startup Infrastructure Diagram based on the input we receive from the ecosystem. Until then, we will post a more in-depth article every other week and highlight some of the players in the ecosystem. Next week we dive into the realm of Capital within the Dutch ecosystem.
Questions or comments? Leave a message via our form or send an email to denise@halbekoenraads.nl.
