The startup culture in the Netherlands is rapidly rising and thriving, boasting a worldwide trading center, a well-established infrastructure of services and commercial necessities, a large pool of well-educated talent, and a strong Dutch entrepreneurial spirit. The Netherlands' propensity to welcome and promote innovation has resulted in one of the most fascinating and lucrative startup environments in Europe as well as globally. After the fact, a plethora of remarkable incubators and accelerators have also developed to provide companies with critical tools to grow within and beyond the ecosystem.
In this article, we have compiled a comprehensive list of all incubator and accelerator programs in the Netherlands, along with a short overview of their programs to help you determine a suitable program. The incubators and accelerators in this list have been subdivided into applicability for startups in their 'ideation', 'launch', or 'growth' stages.
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FULL LIST OF STARTUP INCUBATORS AND ACCELERATORS IN THE NETHERLANDS
Ideation Stage Startup Incubators in the Netherlands
Full list of ideation-stage startup incubators in the Netherlands:
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Art and Culture
The Art-Up Incubator will provide entrepreneurs, innovative makers, and organizations with the opportunity to develop their projects and expand the reach, impact, and sustainability of art and culture in novel ways. The 17-week program involves training and guidance from specialists from within and outside the cultural industry to help you work on your value propositions, business model, organizational plan, fundraising plan, marketing, and pitching.
Who is it for: Aspiring entrepreneurs without an idea
Need to have an idea: No
Focus: Sector Agnostic
DELITELABS is an inclusive startup school that empowers budding entrepreneurs with learning programs and support structure to realize their potential and develop sustainable livelihoods. In collaboration with corporate communities, public institutions, and partner groups, they offer multiple business and municipality programs. Their programs are focused on learning by doing, based on techniques such as Design Thinking, Lean Startup Methodology, Leadership Development, and Personal Effectiveness.
Who is it for: Aspiring entrepreneurs with an idea and seeking cofounder
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Sector Agnostic
The Post Growth Entrepreneurship is an initiative by Nonprofit Ventures to assist organizations in the creation of post-growth startups or spinoffs. They offer workshops, venture generation, and incubation as a service to assist the community of Post-Growth Entrepreneurs in the creation of the PGE ecosystem. The Post Growth Incubator is an 8-week program for social entrepreneurs interested in using Post Growth Entrepreneurship idealism in their firms.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: UrbanTech, Urban Mobility, Waste & Circularity, Smart City Solutions, Smart Infrastructure Solutions, Future-proof Infrastructure & Assets, Construction & Real Estate, Urban Agriculture, Urban Energy
Dedicated to reinventing cities, AMS Institute fosters the design and engineering of sustainable city solutions through programs that encourage the generation of ideas, talent, and collaborations. In particular, the AMS Startup Booster program is their early-stage incubator program that will assist entrepreneurs in idea generation and building their urban-tech firms.
Who is it for: Aspiring entrepreneurs without an idea / Aspiring entrepreneurs with an idea and seeking cofounder / Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Sector Agnostic
For people who want to convert their big ideas into profitable businesses, Antler Netherlands provides you the opportunity to undergo their residency program and receive potential investments. They have two programs: 1) Pre Launch for solo entrepreneurs seeking a co-founder and want to validate their concept, aspiring entrepreneurs without an idea, and co-founder teams ready to move forward, and 2) Pre-Seed for startup teams or incorporated businesses looking for Antler's support. You can join them for nine weeks at their headquarters to meet other founders, validate your ideas, iterate your products, construct your business, and pitch to the Antler team.
Who is it for: Aspiring entrepreneurs with an idea and seeking cofounder
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Sector Agnostic
Demonstrator Lab is a dedicated entrepreneurial laboratory for students, faculty, and researchers from HvA, UvA, VU, and Amsterdam UMC. They provide a hands-on learning environment for early-stage entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into concrete products or services. They will assist you throughout the idea-to-market process, from team formation, to prototype development, marketing plan, and resource allocation. They also provide lab space and equipment, office space, access to workshops, and up to EUR15,000 seed funding to implement your business idea.
Who is it for: Aspiring entrepreneurs with an idea and seeking cofounder
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Sector Agnostic, Female Entrepreneurs
Fe/male Switch is a unique platform that will help you build your first startup through a unique 'Gamepreneurship' methodology. Founded by a female CEO herself, she wants to aid female entrepreneurs who want to move from concept to first income without having to hire developers or seek finance by providing information, skills, tools, and insights through a startup simulator. The gameplay involves assembling a team, launching a business, and keeping the company afloat which helps you gain experience and grow your entrepreneurial skills.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Science and Technology
Aiming to bridge the gap between science and entrepreneurship, ACE Incubator offers various programs for researchers, academics, and students to foster their entrepreneurial mindset and skillset. Within 10 weeks, their ACE Incubation program will provide you opportunities to learn and network with mentors, experts, and seasoned entrepreneurs to transform your technology or science-based ideas into enterprise. Aside from the incubation program, they also offer to explore programs to learn the basics of entrepreneurship, and AI Lab program that powers corporate-startup collaboration to tackle real-world problems and create an AI-based spin-off.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Social Tech, AI, Blockchain, Deep Tech, Aviation, Clean Tech, Med Tech, Robotics
YES!Delft is a European digital incubator that integrates its community of specialists, mentors, corporate partners, and investors with its unique programs to assist in the development of tomorrow's top enterprises. They provide programs to help you at every startup lifecycle, from conception to scaling up. In particular, they offer a Validation Lab program where you can learn how to validate and create your value proposition, as well as their Incubator program to assist you in establishing your business strategy and increasing market penetration.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Technology
UtrechtInc helps first-time entrepreneurs, students, and researchers to bring their concepts to market and develop their businesses. They offer 3 validation programs: Tech, Science, and Student validation for people searching to validate their propositions, gain an understanding of their customers and market, and create a viable business plan. They also offer an Acceleration program for startups with paying customers who want to increase sales, scale their firms, and secure their next investors.
Launch Stage Startup Incubators and Accelerators in the Netherlands
Full list of launch stage startup incubators and accelerators in the Netherlands:
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: AgriFoodTech
Housed in Wageningen, Food Valley, The SratLife Accelerate program is their flagship program that will assist early-stage foodtech, agtech, or bio agtech entrepreneurs to validate their ideas, attract funds, and grow their firms. It is a zero-equity program that runs for 12 weeks, in which participants can gain access to a high-quality business development curriculum, market and customer insights, Wageningen University and research experts, warm introductions to investors, and pre-seed loans.
Who is it for: Aspiring entrepreneurs with an idea and seeking cofounder
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Deep Tech
HighTechXL combines the concept of a venture studio and accelerator into one. They scout potential cofounders and board-selected founders who will form an initial group to work on ideas and business case validation on certain technologies. Selected teams will then participate in HighTechXL's program to work on launching their deep-tech venture and bringing the technology to the market.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: FinTech Digital Assets and Sustainability
Techstars is a renowned accelerator that operates programs in various cities around the globe centered on technologies. Specially focused on digital assets and sustainability in the fintech sector, their Amsterdam program is brought together with ABN AMRO, the third-largest Dutch bank with entrepreneurial and international roots. The program provides the opportunities to participate in Techstars' masterclasses, pitch practices, and mentor chats, as well as gain access to the domain expertise of the bank and their vast network to accelerate your network.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Future of mobility, Future of jobs, Future of real estate, Future of agriculture, Future of coding, Future of cities, Future of money
Hosted by Early Game Ventures, a venture capital company that invests in forward-thinking businesses, the Early Game Accelerator is a highly specialized program for early-stage firms in the aforementioned sectors. As part of the program, businesses will work directly with one of the fund's partners and acquire access to resources to accelerate their growth. They will also invest up to EUR 200,000 in each startup.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Multiple Sectors
Impact Hub is a global network of entrepreneurs and innovators located in over 100 sites in 50+ countries around the globe. To speed up the transition to a new economy, they offer various services and programs to assist you in starting, growing, and scaling your businesses. In their Amsterdam hub, they offer in-house programs such as the Business Model Challenge and the Investment Readiness Program, as well as other multi-sectoral programs in various impact areas.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Multiple Sectors
With the goal of bringing startups and governments together to develop novel solutions to society's pressing concerns, Startup Amsterdam and the City of Amsterdam's Chief Technology Office launched the Startup in Residence initiative. They provide regional Startup in Residence programs which will assist entrepreneurs in developing their solutions, conducting tests with potential clients, and securing their first public-sector customers. The program introduces new challenges with various focuses each year.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Port and Maritime
PortXL is a collaborative ecosystem of startups, scale-ups, corporate partners, and mentors who want to innovate within the maritime industry. In Rotterdam, PortXL runs an intensive 3-months accelerator program for startups to build their businesses, involving activities such as market validation, customer acquisition, training, and so forth. For scale-ups, they offer a business fast-track program to validate their technologies, simplify their solutions, and potentially secure deals with PortXL's business partners.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Space Technology
SBIC, standing for Space Business Innovation Centre, hosts and facilitates a variety of events that relate to Space and Business for startups at various lifecycles. From ideation, validation, and incubation, to acceleration, they organize a range of activities such as hackathons, seminars, workshops, contests, pitch sessions, pre-incubation, incubation, and acceleration programs. Their flagship ESA BIC program is the European Space Agency's business incubation initiative for entrepreneurs to realize their space-tech business ideas. For space startups hailing from other countries, they also offer a Soft Landing Program that will help you establish your business in the Netherlands.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Sustainable Fashion, Raw Materials Processing, Manufacturing, Retail & Use, End-of-Use, Transparency & Traceability
To inspire change and make fashion a force for good, Fashion for Good fosters an innovation platform that connects all key players in the fashion industry to innovative solutions. Brands, retailers, manufacturers, and investors come together to build upon new ideas and disruptive technologies to make fashion good. Best of all, the program is completely free!
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Technology
The AWS Startup Loft Accelerator will take your idea and team from concept to market within 10 weeks. With a virtual program tailored to your startup's needs, they will assist you in refining and verifying your go-to-market strategy, preparing your pitch deck, and becoming investment-ready. As an initiative by AWS, by participating in the program, you'll gain access to AWS' vast network of industry leaders, technical experts, serial entrepreneurs, investors, and other key players in the industry.
Who is it for: Aspiring entrepreneurs with an idea and seeking cofounder
Need to have an idea: No
Focus: UN SDGs Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG)
As the name suggests, the Spirit of Enterprise is a program that fosters the spirit of aspiring entrepreneurs and provides them the space to test their ideas, find a co-founder, and build a team. Through the 12-week part-time program, founders are matched together to form teams and bring their ideas to market. The top-performing teams at the end of the program will then be provided with pre-seed investments to actualize their plan.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: AgriFood Energy Emerging Tech
Organized by Rockstart, an early-stage venture capital firm, the Rockstart programs aim to empower purpose-driven entrepreneurs to build a regenerative and sustainable future. The programs are tailor-made to each startup, involving deep dives, workshops, 1-on-1 expert sessions, coaching sessions, and peer-to-peer sessions that cover various aspects of your business. The program will help you to establish a robust and scalable firm and quickly take your company from MVP to investment-ready.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: FinTech, Cybersecurity
Well-known and experienced in the domain, Startup Bootcamp runs multi-sectoral accelerator programs in various cities around the world. In Amsterdam, they offer an accelerator aimed at empowering FinTech and CyberSecurity businesses and scale-ups. Within the intensive three-month program, they will help you develop a sustainable business and scale quickly through a combination of mentorship, guided assistance, top-level seminars, pitching sessions, and networking events. Each business will also receive an initial investment of EUR15,000 and access to their worldwide network of investors, VCs, and Angels to accelerate your growth.
Growth Stage Startup Accelerators in the Netherlands
Full list of growth-stage startup accelerators in the Netherlands:
Who is it for: Mature startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: B2B / B2B2C, MarTech, CommerceTech, AdTech
Collider Accelerator is specifically targeted at later-stage startups with a validated product in the MarTech, Commerce Tech, and AdTech industries. To help startups convert from a project to a genuine company, become professionals, achieve product-market fit, and expand worldwide, they've assembled a senior team to assist startups with their operations. They will also assist startups in determining and achieving the relevant criteria for the first significant VC round and ultimately produce returns.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Construction
To swiftly improve the built environment in the Netherlands, the Circular@Scale program is specifically designed for technology-driven construction entrepreneurs and scaleups to pioneer the circular economy in the construction industry. The accelerator program contains four workstreams, focusing on assisting scaleups with their strategic and operational scaling difficulties through hands-on coaching and instructional program, based on their researched and updated 'Best Practices for Scaling in the Circular Economy'. They also foster and encourage collaborations and cooperation between circular scale-ups, commercial partners, and building contractors.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Sustainable Energy, Energy Storage, Sustainable Buildings and Cities, Renewable Energies, Smart Electric Grids, Energy Efficiency, Energy for Circular Economy, Energy for Transport and Mobility
Through the leadership of three industrial alliances ( European Battery Alliance, European Green Hydrogen Acceleration, and European Solar PV Industry Alliance), EIT InnoEnergy is paving the way to a decarbonized Europe by 2050. They foster sustainable energy innovations and assist businesses in reinforcing their foundations and mitigate the risk of global expansion. By being part of their innovation ecosystem, you can gain access to market intelligence, finance, human capital, and customers, as well as assistance in technology enhancement, governance, regulation, and supply chain, and industrialization.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Sustainable eCommerce
With the objective to accelerate eCommerce sustainability, Econnections runs a program that involves corporations, entrepreneurs, scale-ups, and knowledge partners to prototype and scales sustainable solutions. Within 5 months, scaleups will be assisted in professionalizing their organization and launching their prototype ventures with the assistance of Econnections' vast ecosystem of specialists, innovators, and prospective consumers.
Who is it for: Mature startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Technology
ScaleNL is the acceleration program that will provide Dutch startups with a fast pass to the US market entry. The curriculum is based on mentoring from local American advisors and specialists in the US market, as well as meeting with other founders who have gone through the same process. To support the US market expansion, they focus on strengthening the understanding of US market and business climate, preparing and adapting the go-to-market strategy throughout US territories, and master pitching and fundraising. The program's highlight is a business trip to the East Coast of the United States, where you will be directly exposed to the local ecosystem.
Who is it for: Mature startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Technology
BeNeLux Catalyst is an accelerator program for tech startups looking to expand to international markets. Though not located in the Netherlands, the program that is targeted to entrepreneurs operating in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg that are planning their entry into the US market. As a participant, you will work with local experts, mentors, and another entrepreneur to improve your understanding of the American business environment and evaluate, validate, and improve your market entry plans.
Closing Thoughts on Startup Incubators and Accelerators in the Netherlands
Whether you're a local entrepreneur looking to actualize your brilliant idea or an international business founder looking to expand to the country, the Netherlands offers plenty of opportunities to help you grow through its world-class incubators and accelerators. Through their programs and network of mentors and partners, combined with your grit and determination, you certainly have high prospects of getting your startup running and thriving in the Dutch country.
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