The Dutch government has announced a commitment to strengthening the country’s startup and scale-up ecosystem, unveiling its new action plan “Building the Tech Champions of Tomorrow.”

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This agenda further supports previously established goals in areas such as financing, talent acquisition, tech jobs, scaling growth, and a focus on knowledge-intensive startups, particularly in deep tech.

Drops to 10th place in 2025

The announcement comes as the Netherlands has recently fallen from 4th place in 2022 to 10th place in 2025 on the list of the world’s most competitive economies. 

“If we want to secure our earning capacity and public services in the future, we must ensure that innovative companies continue to grow here,” says the government.

Minister Karremans (Economic Affairs), says, “We must invest now in tomorrow’s earning capacity. Startups and scale-ups are the engine of economic growth and solutions that make our society stronger and more sustainable. If we want the Netherlands to be able to continue to afford our healthcare, education, and safety in 10 years’ time, we desperately need this new generation of companies. The Netherlands has many successful tech companies like ASML and Adyen, but that’s not a given. We must ensure that these kinds of companies continue to emerge and grow here in the future. Without new tech companies, there would be no strong Netherlands.”

Techleap gets three three-year extension

As a part of the action agenda, the Dutch government has confirmed that the Techleap programme, the national initiative supporting startups and scaleups, will be extended until at least mid-2029.

Minister Vincent Karremans of Economic Affairs announced the decision in a letter to the House of Representatives, allocating €14.8M for Techleap’s continued operations.

The public programme will focus on scaling deeptech companies in strategic sectors through founder support, ecosystem development, and spin-off excellence, including initiatives such as the Academic Startup Competition.

“We are proud of the continued trust in and support for Techleap. Over the years, we have built a thriving community of startup and scaleup founders in the Netherlands through our programmes and ecosystem interventions,” says Techleap through a LinkedIn post.

€200M for ETCI

Besides the Techleap’s extension, the Dutch government has allocated €200M to the European Tech Champions Initiative, complemented by a €250M blended finance instrument.

The government is also working on establishing a national investment institution and offering tax exemptions for startup shareholders.

The European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) is a fund that aims to provide late-stage growth capital to promising tech companies in Europe.

The initiative was launched during a ceremony at the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels.

The fund will be managed by the European Investment Fund (EIF) and is expected to grow and attract new investments in the future.

New tax scheme, funding for ScaleNL and more

The government is also focusing on attracting and retaining talent through a new tax scheme, effective from January 1, 2027.

Next up is the increased support for spin-offs from research institutions. The government is also considering the idea of creating a National Agency for Disruptive Innovation..

Finally, initiatives like ScaleNL in the US, along with startup missions and international events, will receive more backing to help businesses expand globally.

The action agenda, which builds on the National Technology Strategy 2024 and the government’s earlier ambitions for growth companies set in 2023, aims to create at least ten new technology and market leaders in the Netherlands over the next decade.

“ASML and Adyen prove that world-leading companies can emerge here,” says Minister Karremans. “But that success is not guaranteed. If we want to safeguard our prosperity and future earning power, we must invest now in building the tech champions of tomorrow.”