May 13, 2026, Building Ecosystems for Impact

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Date: May 13, 2026
Time: 08.30 – 12.30
Venue: Pestana Hotel, Amsterdam

On May 13, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce hosted Building Ecosystems for Impact at the Pestana Hotel in Amsterdam — bringing together leaders and innovators from Sweden and the Netherlands across corporates, start-ups, academia, government, and investment communities.

The event explored how cross-sector collaboration can strengthen innovation, resilience, and long-term competitiveness within areas such as AI, energy transition, defence, and sustainable urban development.

Throughout the morning, speakers and participants emphasised the importance of trust, openness, and public-private collaboration as the foundation for successful innovation ecosystems. Several discussions highlighted that impactful ecosystems are not created by structures alone, but by people, relationships, and shared ambition.

Photo credits: Jules Pruijn | Scroll down to see all event pictures!

The programme featured keynote reflections from:

H.E. Mr. Julius Liljeström, Ambassador of Sweden to the Netherlands
Frank Berkers, TNO
Jessica Peters Hondelink, Amsterdam Economic Board
Ola Ahlvarsson, Epicenter

Among the key themes discussed were:

The importance of long-term thinking and ecosystem orchestration
How Sweden and the Netherlands can strengthen collaboration as complementary innovation partners
Europe’s opportunities and challenges in scaling innovation and retaining talent and capital
Human-centered innovation and the future role of AI in society and business

Several memorable reflections captured the spirit of the event:

“Ecosystems do not create impact, people do.” – Frank Berkers, Senior Scientist – Strategic Business Analysis at TNO

“Trust has been the foundation of Swedish-Dutch collaboration for centuries.” – Jessica Peters-Hondelink, CEO Amsterdam Economic Board

“Be part of something bigger than yourself.” – Ola Ahlvarsson, CEO Result, Co-Founder Epicenter

The event concluded with engaging discussions and networking sessions, reinforcing the importance of continued Swedish-Dutch collaboration to build resilient ecosystems for the future.

We would like to thank all speakers, partners, moderators, and participants for contributing to an inspiring and insightful morning in Amsterdam.

Breakout Sessions:

Building Ecosystems to Accelerate the Energy Transition

o Hosted by Frank Berkers (TNO), Kerstin Brodin (nlmtd) and Paul Kunneman (Project Enki)

o What does it take to build an innovation ecosystem in six months? AI & Energy start-up Project Enki did exactly that, uniting Dutch, Swedish and Belgian companies around shared goals of sovereignty, sustainability and speed. Together, they are now realizing AI datacenters in the North Sea, powered by renewable energy at the source. Dive into the case study with us and leave with clear next steps for building your own innovation ecosystem.

Knowledge Exchange Between Nordics & the Netherlands on Building Resilient Ecosystems for Defence

o Hosted by Mirjam Ros (nlmtd), co-hosted by Annebelle Waldus (nlmtd) & Karl-Johan Ladekvist (BAE Systems Bofors)

o Join this interactive breakout session to explore key success factors, exchange insights with Nordic and Dutch experts, and align across stakeholders—from Defence to industry, technology institutes, regional development agencies, and investors. Together, we’ll tackle the opportunities and challenges of accelerating innovation and strengthening strategic autonomy. Be part of the conversation and help shape the future of defence ecosystems.

Building Ecosystems for Futureproof AI

o Hosted by Nicholas Morgan (nlmtd), co-hosted by Karen van der Zanden (TNO) & and Lotte de Groen (TNO Vector)

o In January, nlmtd kickstarted the futureproof AI challenge together with 17 knowledge institutes and ecosystem players. The focus: how to build bridges to solve common AI challenges in sustainability, sovereignty and return on investment. In this breakout, we’ll share best practices, new insights and start building new bridges. Dream big, start small and let’s build together.

Building Ecosystems for Resilient, Sustainable & Livable Cities

o Hosted by Sandra van der Pal (nlmtd), co-hosted by Adrian McDonald (Epicenter)

o Why do urban ecosystems so often stall—and what does it take to make them work? In this interactive session, nlmtd and Epicenter share practical lessons from building real-world urban ecosystems across sectors and borders. Through conversation, reflection and participants’ own experiences, we explore how cities can move from collaboration in name to collaboration that delivers impact.

Venue

Pestana Hotel, Amsterdam

Moderator, Pieter Paul van Oerle, Founder nlmtd

Pieter Paul van Oerle is the founder of independent Consultancy Firm nlmtd. His focus is on Open Innovation and building Ecosystems, Clusters and Coalitions. Accelerating Innovation and Industrial Developments in the Netherlands and close -Nordic- allies is core to strategic autonomy, safety and economic growth. Pieter Paul is levaraging his experiences and his network to make a difference in this domain.

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Julius Liljeström, Ambassador of Sweden

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Dr. Stephan van Dijk, PhD, Director of Innovation, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions

Stephan van Dijk (PhD) is Director of Innovation at the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute). He enables researchers, tech talent, and public and private partners to develop solutions that make cities more sustainable and resilient, leading the institute’s innovation strategy, research and innovation programs, prototyping and startup support. Over the past decade, AMS Institute has developed and executed more than 200 research and innovation projects and supported 80 startups advancing sustainable and smarter urban systems. Founded by Delft University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, together with the City of Amsterdam, AMS Institute positions itself at the forefront of urban research and impact-driven innovation. A strategic thinker and doer, Stephan has collaborated with cities including Amsterdam, Lisbon, Barcelona, Rotterdam, and Eindhoven, and with partners such as MIT, Philips, Google, UNS, Daimler, TomTom, Schiphol, and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. Although he once planned to become an architect, he chose to build the systems and organizations that enable better cities. His approach combines open innovation, innovation strategy and strategic experimentation to help cities move from real problems to evidence-based solutions with public value. Stephan earned his PhD at Eindhoven University of Technology in innovation management and business administration, and graduated cum laude from Wageningen University in Systems Engineering. He serves on several regional and European advisory boards and steering groups in urban innovation and smart mobility, and is a frequent advisor and lecturer on innovation, technology and cities.

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Jessica Peters-Hondelink, CEO Amsterdam Economic Board

Jessica is an executive operating at the intersection of government, business and academia. She specialises in change management, collective leadership and public-private collaboration that accelerates sustainable economic development. Jessica is known for connecting people and organisations around challenges and turning complex interests into constructive action. Her drive is to unlock what is stuck and reconnect where systems have come apart. As director of the Amsterdam Economic Board she works with companies, governments, knowledge institutions and civil society to build coalitions that address regional transitions and strengthen a resilient, innovative and sustainable economy in the region.

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Valerie van der Wal, Program Manager Mission Control, TenneT

Valerie van der Wal works at TenneT, where she focuses on innovation and collaboration across the energy sector. She is involved in developing new ways of working, including mission-driven approaches and ecosystem partnerships, to help tackle complex system challenges and accelerate the energy transition.

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Mees Muller, Strategy Advisor, TenneT

Mees Muller is a Strategy Advisor for TenneT. In his work he actively collaborates closely with transmission system operators (TSOs) across Europe on joint innovation initiatives. Additionally, Mees is involved in research on mid to long term flexibility development where requirements and the operational challenges of the evolving electricity system. His work bridges strategy and innovation to help shape a reliable and future proof energy transition.

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Lotte de Groen, Market Director, TNO Vector

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Paul Kunneman, General Director at Project Enki

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Ola Ahlvarsson, CEO Result, Co-Founder Epicenter

Ola Ahlvarsson is an entrepreneur, global speaker, and business strategist with a proven track record of building and scaling successful ventures. Having collaborated with leading industry pioneers, he has developed strong insights into business growth, innovation, and resilience. A Swedish entrepreneur and athlete from Stockholm, Ola has been a prominent figure in digital entrepreneurship since the 1990s. He is also one of Sweden’s most sought-after international speakers and moderators, frequently selected to host and lead discussions at some of the world’s most prestigious events, including the World Economic Forum, DLD Conference in Munich, and the World Knowledge Forum. With expertise in innovation and internationalisation, Ola has advised a range of global organisations, including Google, Ericsson, Samsung, Microsoft, Schibsted, Deutsche Telekom, Telenor, and many others.

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Frank Berkers, Senior Scientist - Strategic Business Analysis at TNO

Since 2008, Frank Berkers has been working with TNO, as lead scientist for collaborative business modelling, on approaches for business models and decision-making for innovations involving multiple organizations. He has contributed to hundreds of projects and initiatives in various sectors, such as mobility, ICT, process industry, agriculture and business services and at regional and international level. This allows me to make good connections. In addition, he is also a professor in Collective Business for Transition at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, focusing on renewal of economic education. He is founder trainer and academic co-director in TNO's strategic initiative Orchestrating Innovation, an approach to sustainably organize ecosystems in order to make actual societal impact with innovation. In collaboration with partner Erasmus Center for Entrepreneurship and Rotterdam School of Management hundreds of professionals in innovation have been trained in and form the community of orchestrators. Before joining TNO, he managed a business unit in marketing research organization SKIM, served as an analyst at ABN AMRO bank, and as an ICT consultant at TENS. In 1998 he obtained the master’s degree in econometrics / operations research from Maastricht University, and in 2023 he received his PhD from TU Eindhoven on the topic of digital platform strategy and business models.

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