The Municipality of Rotterdam and InnovationQuarter collaborate with a matchmaking platform connecting startups and investors
The municipality of Rotterdam and InnovationQuarter, the regional development company for South Holland, have entered into a partnership with Fundsup. The online platform allowing for entrepreneurs and investors to make meaningful connections. The collaboration aims to boost the development of Rotterdam startups that need growth capital. Fundsup plans to realise at least one million in generated investments for Rotterdam startups over the next year.
For entrepreneurs, it is a challenge to raise growth capital in good timing and with a suitable investor (what we call “smart money”). Meanwhile, investors are being questioned by entrepreneurs and it is difficult to find the startup that meets their investment criteria with such a wide range in the ecosystem.
Fundsup has developed an online platform tackling these challenges, to facilitate meaningful connections between founders and investors. The platform consists of a website and an associated app.
“Although we are one of the most active investors in the Netherlands and talk about their financing needs with some 800 companies every year, we still notice that it is difficult to come to a match between founders and investors. Through Fundsup we hope to make the financing bridge faster, “says Rinke Zonneveld, director of InnovationQuarter.
“As a municipality, we want to play a role in facilitating meaningful connections between innovative entrepreneurs and investors who can jointly make an impact in Rotterdam. Through our partnership with Fundsup and InnovationQuarter we can offer entrepreneurs an instrument to present their innovation to investors as well as possible and we help investors with a better picture of the investment opportunities in Rotterdam. As a result, we stimulate Rotterdam’s economy and employment, “says Barbara Kathmann (Municipality of Rotterdam, economy).
Fundsup as a matchmaking platform
Entrepreneurs apply for a company profile and after a screening, can publish their profile. This gives them the opportunity to bring their company to the attention of a fast-growing network of various types of investors. Affiliated investors are offered appropriate and up-to-date profiles via the linked app, based on the Fundsup algorithm. They can, based on their preferences, discover anonymous startups, follow them and make contact with them via the app.
“We look forward to making meaningful connections between Rotterdam startups and investors. It is a perfect collaboration: the municipality of Rotterdam and InnovationQuarter are looking for ways to inspire investors to invest in regional innovation and Fundsup offers an online platform especially for this purpose. Fundsup wants to work with governments and companies that want to use innovation to permanently improve the challenge of access to capital for entrepreneurs, “says Arjen Strijker, CEO and founder of Fundsup
The collaboration between the three parties is the starting block for increased expansion and growth in the Netherlands and following closely behind, other European countries.
