Startup Summit Sweden – the Netherlands
All you need to know about connecting to the Swedish – Dutch Startup Scene
What are the key factors behind the thriving startup sectors in Sweden and the Netherlands?
In both Sweden and the Netherlands, the startup sector is booming. According to the Startup Genome ranking the Stockholm and Amsterdam startup ecosystems were both ranked top 20 globally. During the high-level Startup Summit speakers discussed the factors behind the thriving startup sectors in both countries, and how a long-term collaboration can lead to an even better performance of our startup-ecosystems. Prince Daniel of Sweden and Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands honoured the event and made introductory remarks about their view on the importance of startups and what the countries can learn from each other.
The two princes were invited due to their engagement in entrepreneurship and startups. Prince Daniel is committed to enterprise and works to promote entrepreneurship among young people, eg. through the project Prince Daniel’s Fellowship. The idea behind the project is to inspire young people to become entrepreneurs and to support ambitious young entrepreneurs in growing their business. Prince Constantijn is Special Envoy at StartupDelta, the accelerator for the startup ecosystem in the Netherlands, and advises companies and the European Commission on their digital innovation strategies.
The Swedish State Secretary for Enterprise and Innovation, Stina Billinger, and the Dutch State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Mona Keijzer, discussed how policymaking and financial support can help the startup sector flourish, and what the two countries can learn from each other. The event was the starting point for a long-term collaboration between the two countries within the startup sector.
“For me, it is very important that our startup sector is doing well, because then startups become scale-ups and that’s good for the economic growth. […] The three most important things we can help startups with are access to talent, access to funding and access to connections”, Mona Keijzer, State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the Netherlands”
“One important factor for startups is gender equality – women cannot stay at home with the children and scale-up a company at the same time”, Stina Billinger, State Secretary for Enterprise and Innovation, Sweden.
The summit was held the day before the opening of conference The Next Web, in the brand-new Amsterdam premises of Epicenter. a digital innovation house and destination for large corporates and fast growing digital scale-ups looking to learn, inspire, collaborate, grow and innovate with impact.
“Startup Summit Sweden – The Netherlands” was organised by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce, The Embassy of Sweden in The Hague and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.
Welcome to scroll down to the end of the page for event photos.
Event photos by: Carolina Nordholm, Nordholm Design & Communication
Program
14.30 Registration
15.00 Welcome by Ehsan Turabaz, Chairman Swedish Chamber of Commerce
15.03 Intro by moderator Wilco Schuttelaar – Holland Innovation Network
Introductory remarks by HRH Prince Daniel of Sweden and HRH Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands
How do national governments support scale-up ecosystems? Summing up the findings of a study comparing the United Kingdom, Sweden & the Netherlands
Marc Wullings – Managing Partner SkipRed
Learning from the study: How can policymaking and financial support help make the startup sector flourish?
Stina Billinger – State Secretary for Enterprise and Innovation, Sweden, and Mona Keijzer – State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the Netherlands
16.05 Break
16.20 Fireside talk about building a global startup ecosystem: International expansion and business opportunities
Ricardo van Loenen – Founder/CEO B.Building Business and Patrick Mesterton – CEO Epicenter Stockholm
Fireside talks about talent acquisition
Ruben Nieuwenhuis – Director StartupAmsterdam and Alberto Corti – Head of SSES Ventures
From Startup to Unicorn
Robert Bueninck – General Manager DACH Klarna
Presentations by four mature startup companies from Sweden and the Netherlands
On internationalization: Their journey and lessons learned!
Learn Adapt Build
Elizabeth Nelson
FocusCura
Ronald Scheffer
Just Football
Joel Fredman Klockar
Aida
Stefan Stefansson
Fireside talks about startup culture and women in Fintech
Don Ginsel – Founder Holland FinTech and Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist – Senior Advisor to NFT Ventures, Chairman Swedish Private Equity & Venture Capital Association
Concluding remarks
Nils Beer – Director of StartupDelta
17.40 End of Summit
17.40 Match Making/Tour Epicenter
17.40 Networking, drinks & snacks
19.00 End of Event
On May 14 the Swedish Chamber of Commerce was very proud to host a Chamber Luncheon with keynote speaker Mr. Jesper Brodin, CEO & President of IKEA Group, in the presence of H.E. Ambassador of Sweden Mr. Per Holmström. We would like to thank Mr. Brodin for his inspiring speech about IKEA and its vision for the future as well as thank Courtyard by Marriot for excellent hosting. Thank you to all guests for participating and making this Luncheon to a successful networking event!
Guest Speaker and Honorary Guest:
Mr. Jesper Brodin, President and CEO IKEA Group
Program
12.00 Registration and drinks
12.30 Lunch
Keynote speech by Mr. Jesper Brodin, President and CEO IKEA Group
14.30 End of Program
This event was generously sponsored by:
Event photos by: Carolina Nordholm, Nordholm Design & Communication
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Mentorship program 2017/2018!
On April 24 was the very successful Final Dinner of the Mentorship Program 2017/2018 at Cafe Selma’s. During this final dinner and evaluation, the mentors and mentees reflected on what they have learned, what changes have taken place and the lessons they learned for the future. We would like to thank our wonderful mentors and mentees for commitment and engagement during this program.
A new Mentorship Program will start in September/October 2018. For more information you are welcome to contact info@swedishchamber.nl
The Swedish Chamber of Commerce exclusive Business Woman Program 2018 presents four seminars for the empowering and support of woman business leaders. The seminars are designed to increase and sharpen your leadership skills and to help yourself to a higher level of efficiency, awareness, and success. Moderator is Malin Hedlund, MH Leadership. We welcome the women from the Swedish Chamber, Young Professionals of the Swedish Chamber with a focus to expand leadership communication and strengthen the skills to communicate with others.
Time: 18.30 – 21.00
How to read people and gain their trust
How do you become a great leader for yourself and others? What makes others feel confident in you? In this session, we take a closer look at how to use self-insight to create better cooperation with others, and you will learn to read others in your everyday interactions. We address the value of focused communication for creating clarity.
Swedish Fika will be served at all Seminars!
Photos by Nordholm Design and Communication
Thank you to everyone who participated at the very successful Annual General Meeting and Chamber Luncheon on Thursday April 12! We would also like to give special thanks to our keynote speaker Mr. Thierry Vanlancker, CEO Akzo Nobel, and Hotel De L’Europe for excellent hosting.
Program:
10.45 Coffee and Registration
11.00 Annual General Meeting
12.00 Registration Lunch and Drinks
12.30 Annual Chamber Luncheon
Keynote Speaker Mr. Thierry Vanlancker, CEO Akzo Nobel
14.30 End of Luncheon
Venue:
De L’Europe | Nieuwe Doelenstraat 2-14 | 1012 CP Amsterdam | The Netherlands
Event photos by: Carolina Nordholm, Nordholm Design & Communication
Welcome to join The Swedish Chamber of Commerce for Women’s Day Lunch together with The French Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands on March 8, 2018!
Keynote Speaker: Rina Joosten-Rabou
Men are more than welcome to join us for this event!
Thursday, March 8th, 2018
On February 15 the Swedish Chamber and Young Professionals organized a successful Entrepreneurs Café about GDPR! Thank you all for interesting discussions and a big thanks to our keynote speaker Maeson Ethard, Co-founder and Managing Director of Base Cyber Security and to Laura Huijts, Privacy Consultant bij KPMG Nederland. Welcome to read more about the event below.
The Swedish Chamber’s Entrepreneurs Café
The Swedish Chamber of Commerce and the Young Professionals organize four Entrepreneurs Cafés each year. Each Entrepreneurs Café includes a Keynote Speaker and group discussions in order to learn as much as possible and to share experiences and expertise. You will go home inspired but also with a toolbox for how to further explore the topic of the Entrepreneurs Café in which you have participated.
The Swedish Chamber and Young Professionals Entrepreneurs Café
GDPR: What? Why? and How?
Join us for our first Entrepreneurs Café of 2018 to learn more about the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which is entering into force on May 25, 2018. Which are the key areas of change introduced by the GDPR and what are the critical areas organisations need to be aware of when preparing for compliance?
The new law marks a wide-reaching and significant shift in the way that organisations must protect personal data. For companies in the beginning of their process, you will get a concrete presentation about how GDPR will affect your company, the implementation of the law and how the company IT structure and processes will be affected by our keynote speaker Maeson Ethard, Base Cyber Security.
Welcome to the third session of the Mentorship program 2017/2018!
During this workshop we will focus on the International Business Culture we are active in and how we can develop our networking skills.
Time: 18.30 – 21.00
February 6 was the very successful Mentorship Program Meet Up III with the topic ‘International Business Culture and Networking Skills’. Thank you all for interesting discussions and thank you Wilma and Mercuri Urval!
We are welcoming you to the fourth and last session of the Mentorship program 2017/2018 April 24. We will reflect on what we have learned, what changes have taken place and the lessons we learned for the future. Also, we will have a Q&A with the group on how to apply for new jobs, how to grow, and, do’s and don’ts in your professional life Hope to see you there!
