Innovation leads the way
In Rotterdam we're always one step ahead. We're not only thinking and talking about innovation, we do it. Together with all the amazing people who work and live in Rotterdam. Our port is the central hub of Europe’s largest maritime cluster and we are also a key player on a global scale in other strong economic sectors. In Rotterdam we aim for a better and more sustainable future for all. The United Nations addressed the global challenges, in Rotterdam we build and implement solutions. Rotterdam is a hotbed for innovative entrepreneurs who contribute to a sustainable, circular and digital city in the new economy. We want to support these entrepreneurs in scaling up their business. With Up!Rotterdam we connect and strengthen initiatives to provide easier access to talent, international markets and financing.
Latest updates
The Rotterdam Reef
In collaboration with the City of Rotterdam, Rijkswaterstaat and Boskalis, the innovative start-up Reefy from Delft will test a modularartificial reef system that protects the ...
More >Wouter Goedhart on building a recruitment marketing company, investing in startups, and launching his own limoncello brand
Wouter Goedhart is the type of guy who likes the challenge of being an entrepreneur. He likes the fast pace and unpredictability of starting and running a new venture, as well as ...
More >The Port of Rotterdam, soon to be Europe’s Hydrogen Hub
We have absolutely no time to lose. We need to pick up the pace in order to realise our climate goals. Both the climate crisis and the war in Ukraine urgently need an accelerated ...
More >Arosha Brouwer on the importance of understanding wellbeing and taking it into your own hands
If you are looking for a one single way to describe Arosha Brouwer, we bet you won’t be able to find it. Arosha is an expert on wellbeing, a devoted wife and mother of two, a keen...
More >Pieter Schoen: Navigating the ups and downs of entrepreneurship on the way to success
Pieter Schoen is a man who knows how to turn an idea into an appealing business opportunity. After founding a publishing business and two IT companies, he started – and later sold...
More >500 million euros Brexit support for Dutch business
The government is making a total of 500 million euros available through the so-called Brexit Adjustment Reserve for Dutch entrepreneurs and fishermen who are dealing with negative...
More >The Netherlands opens – measures are gradually decreasing
The number of corona infections is high, many people are in isolation or quarantine at home. Despite the high infection rates, the number of hospital admissions remains stable. We...
More >The Hyperconnected Europe initiative brngs cities together
The Hyperconnected Europe initiative is a community of cities and regions jointly creating a vision for the European hyperloop network. It is established by the world’s largest pu...
More >Quantum technology offers Dutch business new opportunities
The Province of South Holland, together with the Metropolitan Region of Rotterdam The Hague and Quantum Delta NL, has awarded €450,000 to six regional knowledge institutions and c...
More >Leading Maritime Cities report 2022: Rotterdam on top of the European list
On January 13 classification society DNV and Menon Economics launched the 2022 edition of the Leading Maritime Cities report. Rotterdam has emerged as the runner-up, only preceded...
More >Shops, gyms and hairdressers to reopen
The rules for sports, artistic and cultural activities, contact-based industries, shops and education will be relaxed on Saturday 15 January 2022. The government has decided that ...
More >Nalden: Serial entrepreneur, investor, husband, and father of two
For many, he is known as a blogger, the founder of WeTransfer, and more recently also of Adelee, a messaging platform for bringing friends and families closer together. For himsel...
More >Lockdown in the Netherlands
It has become clear in the past week that the Omicron variant is spreading very rapidly in the Netherlands too. The Outbreak Management Team (OMT) expects that this variant will b...
More >Corona update: Evening closing extended, elementary school close week earlier
However, it does appear cautiously that we are past this peak of the delta variant. The effects of the measures and our joint efforts are therefore visible. But as long as hospita...
More >Julian Jagtenberg on building a company on the intersection of robotics and sleep
Starting a business in a largely new market cannot possibly be an easy task. And if you ask Julian Jagtenberg, founder and CEO of Somnox, he would tell you that indeed, it isn’t. ...
More >Scaling up: What does it take to grow your innovative tech business?
“Just because we are successful in the Netherlands doesn’t mean we would be successful in other countries. In each place, we need to start a company from scratch and understand wh...
More >Rotterdam maritime sector on track with AI
Marnix Krikke has been Chairman of the working group Port and Maritime of the NLAI Coalition since this summer. The working group has the ambition to accelerate the datafication a...
More >Digital platforms: How can they support the next economy?
Here’s a challenge for you: Think about your online behavior and try to name a few of the digital platforms you use in your day-to-day. Google? LinkedIn? Amazon? Wikipedia? It’s n...
More >Jarell Habets, CEO of Shypple, on shaking up traditional industries and the 'quantified self'
“Over the past years, we have built an organic growth machine. More than half of our people are working in a department focused on growth. Now it’s time to add another layer to th...
More >Rotterdam Unlocked Organic Waste Challenge 2021
Rotterdam produces 10 million kilograms of organic household waste every year, most of which has the potential to be transformed into valuable new materials. By 2030, The Netherla...
More >Full speed ahead into the Circular Economy
Imagine an economy with no waste. An economy where materials are reused over and over again, and an economy that drives the carbon neutrality of an entire country. In about 30...
More >The 3rd round of allocating grants to companies with smart sustainable solutions has started
From 2 August to 1 October 2021, new candidates can register for the third round of allocating grants under the Smart Energy Systems 2021 programme. They can apply for up to €100,...
More >Seven sustainable Rotterdam innovations receive a grant of up to €100,000 from the City of Rotterdam
The City of Rotterdam is making energy cleaner, smarter and more efficient with its Smart Energy Systems (SES2021) Programme. Seven Rotterdam initiatives today received a financi...
More >Vincent Karremans: Entrepreneur, politician and a man who works hard to make things happen
Vincent Karremans is the kind of person who likes to make things happen. If he finds a problem, he will also find a solution, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that entrepreneurs...
More >PortXL selects 15 innovators for maritime acceleration
15 companies hailing from 11 countries were selected by an expert panel of industry experts, investors and entrepreneurs for the 6th PortXL acceleration program in Rotterdam. Sta...
More >Launch of €100 million Rotterdam Energy Transition Fund
The Rotterdam Energy Transition Fund, a collaboration between InnovationQuarter and the City of Rotterdam, was launched on Thursday, 3 June. A €100 million fund is now available t...
More >Djordy Seelmann, CEO of Housing Anywhere: ‘You need great people to run a great company’
Djordy Seelmann is a guy driven by purpose. He is a tech entrepreneur, he is passionate about real estate and building impactful ventures, and he has always wanted to run a compan...
More >Contribute to a regional borderless data landscape
The Borderless Data Landscape (in Dutch: Grenzeloos Datalandschap), a collaboration between the city of Rotterdam, the city of The Hague and the province of South-Holland, has sta...
More >Easily calculate how you can sustainably use your roof
Are you considering installing a green roof, water storage or solar panels on your roof? This calculation tool will help you. The construction of a multifunctional roof requires ...
More >Step 3: nearly everything to reopen, subject to certain conditions
The number of people being admitted to hospital with COVID-19 is falling rapidly. And more and more people are being vaccinated. The government has therefore decided to bring forw...
More >FERM may share NCSC information on cyber threats
The FERM foundation has been granted the OKTT status from its partnership with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). This is an important step in the goal of making the Port ...
More >Second step of reopening plan confirmed
The numbers of new ICU and hospital admissions for COVID-19 have continued to fall. This means the government’s decision to take the second step of the plan to reopen society on ...
More >Press conference update - gyms open and more possible outside
The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals has fallen slightly. And, with more than 6 million vaccine doses administered, the number of vaccinated people is growing steadily. T...
More >Hicham Shatou, CEO of LeQuest: Building a successful medtech scale-up with diversity at its heart
If you were to describe Hicham Shatou, CEO of medtech scale-up LeQuest, in just a few words, it would probably sound like: A man on a mission to improve healthcare. Originally fro...
More >West netherlands makes pace with european REACT money
The European economic stimulation program "Opportunities for West" received an additional impulse of over 82 million euros from the European Union from the so-called "REACT EU" fu...
More >World IP Day
Today - 26 April - is World Intellectual Property Day. This day was created by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) to draw attention to the theme of intellectual prope...
More >Opening up our society step by step
More and more people are being vaccinated against corona, which means that fewer people will fall ill soon. It is expected that the number of new hospitalizations will decrease. O...
More >Rotterdam receives award during UNESCO Netexplo Linking Cities Forum
"Rotterdam is a digital pioneer city on the national and European stage." According to the jury of the Netexplo Linking Cities Award, this is the reason that Rotterdam received an...
More >NorthC Datacenters expands into South Holland
NorthC Datacenters, the largest regional data centre company in the Netherlands, is to expand its existing data centre in Rotterdam Zestienhoven. Whereas most data centres focus o...
More >Jan van der Tempel: There is a lesson in everything you do as an entrepreneur
“Innovation is not the invention,” says Jan van der Tempel. “Innovation is getting your invention to market and making it work.” As the founder, inventor and CEO of Ampelmann, the...
More >Getting stronger out of the crisis with innovative ideas from Rotterdammers
For the seventh year in a row, the City of Rotterdam's CityLab010 program is opening its doors to innovative ideas from the people of Rotterdam. This year over 3 million Euros is ...
More >Phileas Fit: A vitality trip around the world in three months
As an organization, how can you encourage your employees to get fitter? By combining gamification and blended care and making healthy behaviour fun, according to entrepreneur and ...
More >Record number of matches during Healthy Funding IV!
Connecting start-ups and scale-ups in Life Sciences & Health with relevant investors and funds. That was the goal of the matchmaking event Healthy Funding IV, which took place on ...
More >Kars Veling: Classrooms need a little bit more fun
Kars Veling might have one of the shortest LinkedIn descriptions out there: “Fascinated by internet technology.” It’s concise, to the point and quite frankly, it says it all. ...
More >Lockdown remains until March 30
There are still too many people infected with the coronavirus. The pressure on hospitals is still too high. That is why the government is not going to relax the rules any further,...
More >New subsidy round for companies with smart sustainable solutions
Five innovative companies have already started innovations in the city and port. From the 2nd of March until the 2nd of May 2021, new applicants can register for the second subsid...
More >More breathing space in lockdown, but caution remains
The coronavirus measures are testing everyone’s resilience, both physically and mentally. The longer the crisis continues, the more difficult it becomes for everyone. Now that a y...
More >Healthy.Capital looking for ambitious start-ups in the early phase
The fourth edition of Healthy Funding held on Thursday 4th of February, was co-hosted by Healthy.Capital. This investment fund invests in young, promising Dutch companies that foc...
More >From law students to pioneers in sustainable medical care
Michiel Kuijpers and Daan Lamens were once fellow law students. Now, with their company, Euronitrile they have developed a biodegradable, disposable medical glove. This should, fi...
More >Contribution towards fixed costs first quarter 2021 started
Contribution towards fixed costs first quarter 2021 started SME entrepreneurs who will be affected by the measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the first quarter of...
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