Dutch-based Flavour secures funding to strengthen digital safety and skills through gamification

Utrecht-based Flavour, a company specialising in playful learning and activation through applied gaming and storytelling, has secured investment from Northwave Cyber Security and ROM Utrecht Region.

In a statement translated from Dutch, Susanne Schilderman, the Utrecht alderman for Economic Affairs, says, “Digital crime is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Everyone is now familiar with phishing emails and text messages that are sometimes almost indistinguishable from the real thing.”

“Digital skills are therefore extremely important to protect yourself and others around you. It is good that the ROM Utrecht Region is investing in this innovation!”

This funding will enable Flavour to advance its mission of promoting digital security and empowerment. By continuing to develop its technologies and educational programmes, Flavour aims to strengthen its efforts to combat online risks and enhance digital skills globally.

What does Flavour offer?

Flavour employs a method called Hero Centered Design, which encourages behaviour change by approaching end users as heroes and aiming to create a positive societal impact. 

Founded by Tim Murck, Emily Jacometti and Jaïn van Nigtevegt, the company focuses on digital safety through programmes like HackShield and HeroCenter. 

HackShield is a game for children aged 8-12 that raises awareness of cyber threats and works with over 200 municipalities, schools, and organisations to foster a cyber-safe generation. 

HeroCenter uses storytelling and gamification to make learning and behaviour change engaging and effective for various social and organisational issues.

Capital utilisation

The funding will support Flavour’s growth strategy, particularly with HackShield’s goal to expand internationally. 

As an initiative in online safety for young people, HackShield aims to extend its global reach, equipping children with the knowledge and skills to protect themselves from online threats.

This expansion is expected to increase HackShield’s impact, helping to foster a generation more resilient to cyber risks.

Emily Jacometti, co-founder of Flavour, says, “This investment underscores our commitment to building a safer digital future for everyone. With the support of Northwave and the ROM, we can increase our impact and make a lasting difference in the world of online safety.”

What do investors have to say?

Founded in 2006, Northwave Cyber Security is a European cybersecurity specialist with offices in Utrecht, Leipzig, Brussels, and Stockholm. The firm enhances organisations’ cyber resilience by integrating processes, IT infrastructures, and employee behaviour. 

Northwave’s Computer Emergency Response Team (NW-CERT) has been providing certified incident response services since 2011, assisting hundreds of companies annually in handling digital attacks and ransomware recovery.

Speaking about the investment in Flavour, Steven Dondorp, CEO of Northwave Cyber ​​Security, says, “Our mission is to make a positive impact on our society. We make that contribution by making and keeping medium-sized and large organisations digitally resilient. Our corporate philosophy not only has the commercial perspective, but also the broader social perspective where it goes well together.”

“With our investment in Flavour, we are specifically investing in the further growth of Hackshield, because we believe it is important that children learn to deal with the positive and negative aspects of digitalisation. That is why we always take Hackshield with us to the countries to which we expand our company. A good example of this is the recent launch of Hackshield in Scandinavia, in collaboration with the Safer Sweden Foundation.”

Jeffrey Williams, Sr. Investment Manager at ROM Utrecht, adds, “With benefits in the field of learning pleasure and knowledge retention, we expect the use of games as a learning tool to increase significantly in the coming years.”

“The impact and ambitions of Flavour fit in well with our investment strategy and with this investment we are pleased to be able to support Flavour in its further international rollout.”

ROM Utrecht Region is a social investor focused on supporting companies in key sectors like digital, health, and sustainability. To enhance access to capital, ROM collaborates with partners within and beyond the region.

The firm manages two funds: the Startup Innovation Fund and the Participation Fund, the latter co-financed by the province of Utrecht and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The investment in Flavour was made from the Participation Fund.