Our personalised services help newly arrived companies establish and grow in greater Rotterdam – The Hague
Category: Business Culture
Companies are supported extensively when establishing and growing their business in greater Rotterdam – The Hague. From submitting the right documents at the chamber of commerce, to renting the perfect office location, selecting the best service providers to facilitate your operations, to connecting to the local ecosystem. We like to introduce you to the Life Sciences & Health experts in our region: Sharon Mullen (Rotterdam Partners), Sasja Heijman and Lissa Boxy (both InnovationQuarter)
Sasja, Lissa and Sharon work closely together in assisting international Life Sciences & Health companies with establishing in the Netherlands. Sharon’s focus is on the urban Rotterdam region, while the territory of Lissa and Sasja spans the greater Rotterdam – The Hague area.
Tuning in to the vibrant Life Sciences and Health community
“Our extensive network in the Life Sciences & Health cluster turns out to be the most valuable asset when it comes to helping newcomers grow their business in our region” says Sasja, as she exits today’s virtual LSH 010 breakfast session.
The breakfast sessions are just one of many regular networking events for the LSH community in greater Rotterdam – The Hague, where professionals meet and share ideas. “The meetings are very popular. Many business leaders attend these events on a regular basis. They experience how valuable they are in finding opportunities for collaboration and innovation, sharing experiences and building a network” explains Sharon.
The breakfast sessions are just one of many regular networking events for the LSH community in greater Rotterdam – The Hague, where professionals meet and share ideas. “The meetings are very popular. Many business leaders attend these events on a regular basis. They experience how valuable they are in finding opportunities for collaboration and innovation, sharing experiences and building a network” explains Sharon.
Lissa Boxy: “The business community activities in our region have been intensifying over the past couple of years. It’s great to see how the communities in Leiden, Rotterdam, Delft and The Hague are increasingly entangled. This is especially valuable because of how expertise is distributed across the region. The mingling of the communities really takes innovation in the sector to a higher level.”
The business events forge an informal community where many LSH professionals of all nationalities connect and easily reach out to each other to collaborate or share ideas. These events reflect the highly diverse cultural mix that characterizes our region. The Life Sciences & Health community is international and welcoming to newcomers.
Meet the team:
Sharon Mullen is originally from the UK and has lived in Rotterdam for 20 years, in the past 4 years she has worked as part of the Netherlands Invest in Holland team, helping many international companies who have located in the city of Rotterdam.
Call Sharon: +31 611160625
Email Sharon: s.mullen@rotterdampartners.nl
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What I really enjoy about the role is sharing my experience with these new companies to make sure they are successful at connecting with the Life Science Ecosystem. It’s really important for new companies to know how to connect with the healthcare providers to join the established networks and find a way to connect to other business working in a similar field.
I have built up a strong network in the past 4 years with many experts in Medical Research, Healthcare delivery, local government and the business community. My contacts are very happy to meet with these new international companies and share their experience and to make their arrival much smoother. I am here to help with each step in the process.
In the Netherlands, we are proud of our strong collaboration and always searching for new ways to inspire innovations, what I enjoy about my role is I can really help International companies contribute to our exciting Life Science and Health ecosystem
Sasja Heijman is a Dutch native and has assisted international MedTech and digital health companies to set up their business in the Netherlands and the Greater Rotterdam-the Hague region for the past 4.5 years. Sasja has an extensive network and is a star at introducing companies to the right people in the life sciences & health community in order for them to grow their business and become part of the local ecosystem.
Call Sasja: +31 612155946
Email Sasja: sasja.heijman@innovationquarter.nl
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Sasja has an extensive network and ample business understanding. She is a star at introducing companies to the right people in the life sciences & health community in order for them to grow their business and become part of the local ecosystem.
Lissa Boxy is an ex-pat herself with many years of experience in foreign direct investment. She understands the issues facing these companies, not only from a business point of view but also from the cultural and personal side. She wants companies to be successful and for international employees to feel at home in the Netherlands.
Call Lissa: +31 624756651
Email Lissa: lissa.boxy@innovationquarter.nl
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I appreciate the opportunity to assist new international companies to set up and grow their business here. It’s a privilege to get to spend time with so many skilled entrepreneurs with really interesting business propositions. To give the right advice, I want to thoroughly understand the business plans of the company and the needs of the families moving to the Netherlands so I can connect them to our extensive network of organizations, companies and academic institutes.
Email me:
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About the Invest in Holland Network
Rotterdam Partners and InnovationQuarter are both partner in the Invest in Holland network, a collaborative team of the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency, regional economic development agencies, several large cities and Holland International Distribution Council. The network works to provide a continuum of free, confidential support services to new foreign investors, as well as existing foreign investors that already have operations in the Netherlands.
Assisting companies with settling and growing their business
Sharon: “On arrival in our region one of the first places we like to visit is our Expat Centre in Schielandhuis, one of the oldest buildings in the city of Rotterdam. Here we have a one-stop-shop where you can meet our team of experts who can help with the Dutch immigration services and various banks who can help set up a bank account easily. This service really takes the load off the shoulders of the business leaders when they set up their companies here, so they can focus on getting their business up and running.”
Sharon contiues: “Also, because of the various companies we have helped establish in our region, we can advise about service providers such as a good accountant that understands your business, or a recruitment agency with the right services and talent pool to meet the needs of your company at the stage you are in. We can even introduce them to researchers at the universities or living labs, and connect them to companies with complementary solutions in their specific specialisation.”
About Rotterdam Partners
Rotterdam Partners is responsible for city marketing and acquisition and is committed to developing a hospitable city and an attractive entrepreneurial climate. In this way, it strengthens the economy of Rotterdam in the broadest sense of the word while always taking our city’s liveability and identity into account.
Aligned efforts
In greater Rotterdam – The Hague, parties from the government, research institutes and companies (which the Dutch refer to as the ‘triple helix’) are working together and aligning their efforts to create a smarter, cleaner and healthier future. In practice, it means that activities such as research and innovation programmes, as well as support structures such as subsidies and lab facilities are all in place to help companies realize that future. Because of this alignment, it’s easy for companies to make good use of the available resources, and thereby strengthen the collective stream of efforts.
Sasja: “A great result of the triple-helix collaboration, combined with our strong future focus is the convergence between Delft University of Technology, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Erasmus University Medical Center and the development of the health-technology campus. This initiative focuses on topics such as data science & AI, biomedical imaging and smart devices. It creates strong momentum for medical technology companies to connect with what is happening in the city of Rotterdam.”
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Leiden Bio Science Park is the largest Life Sciences and health cluster in the Netherlands and has acquired a strong, global position.
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Centre for Human Drug Research offers state-of-the-art facilities to accommodate early phase clinical trials. Its purpose-built unit stands at the cutting edge of clinical drug development.
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TNO is an independent research organisation that connects people and knowledge to create innovations that boost the competitive strength of industry and the well-being of society in a sustainable way.
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The Dutch Innovation Park in Zoetermeer is a breeding ground for applied IT solutions in the field of digital health, cybersecurity, smart mobility and big data
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Medical Delta is a collaboration in which almost 300 scientists work together in fifteen different consortia on technological solutions for sustainable care.
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YES!Delft is a leading Tech Incubator that helps make a positive impact on the world through entrepreneurship and its extensive startup ecosystem.
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RoboValley drives the development of cognitive robotics to contribute to solving major societal challenges such as climate change, ageing societies, growing world population and food shortage.
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Erasmus MC encompasses a full spectrum of clinical services, including those provided by two specialist units operating under the Erasmus MC umbrella: Erasmus MC Sophia Children’s Hospital and Erasmus MC Cancer Institute.
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EIT Health is uniquely placed at the meeting point of business, research and education to bring innovative, real-world health solutions to market to enhance the health of citizens.
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CIC provides premium flexible offices, co-working, event space and amenities. The CIC Rotterdam innovation community will provide you with the best environment from which you can focus on improving the world.
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Rotterdam Science Tower is a multi-company building: a unique mixture of lab space, offices and facilities for laboratory education.
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The Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship believes that entrepreneurship is the primary driver for innovation.
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At the National eHealth Living Lab (NeLL), patients, healthcare providers, consumers, students, scientists, entrepreneurs, organizations and institutions work together to make eHealth an effective and integrated part of healthcare.
Lissa: At the Leiden Bio Science Park, Medical Delta fieldlab Phenomix is a great example of a triple-helix collaboration It supports companies working on precision medicine in the area of Metabolomics. The upcoming NECSTGEN facility, (the Netherlands Centre for the Clinical Advancement of Stem Cell and Gene Therapies), will provide facilities for the development of new therapies which will not only treat diseases, but will cure them. We see that both precision medicine and personalized medicine will play a crucial part in creating a healthy future.
About InnovationQuarter
InnovationQuarter is the regional economic development agency for greater Rotterdam – The Hague. Internationalisation is just one of the business units, which holds 15 account managers with over 150 years of combined experience. InnovationQuarter also has a team of investment managers that invest in innovative companies, and business developers who organize collaborative innovation programmes.
Lissa: At the Leiden Bio Science Park, Medical Delta fieldlab Phenomix is a great example of a triple-helix collaboration It supports companies working on precision medicine in the area of Metabolomics. The upcoming NECSTGEN facility, (the Netherlands Centre for the Clinical Advancement of Stem Cell and Gene Therapies), will provide facilities for the development of new therapies which will not only treat diseases, but will cure them. We see that both precision medicine and personalized medicine will play a crucial part in creating a healthy future.
About InnovationQuarter
InnovationQuarter is the regional economic development agency for greater Rotterdam – The Hague. Internationalisation is just one of the business units, which holds 15 account managers with over 150 years of combined experience. InnovationQuarter also has a team of investment managers that invest in innovative companies, and business developers who organize collaborative innovation programmes.
Sasja: “As a demonstration of how healthcare companies benefit directly, I like to mention innovation programme ZorgTech, which translates as ‘Healthcare Technology’. This programme is subsidised by the Province of Zuid-Holland and Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague and facilitates collaboration between companies, healthcare institutes and R&D facilities and provides funding for the projects.
Read about how Australian design engineering firm IDE leverages the opportunities in our region, for example by participating in the ZorgTech program.
Sasja continues: “The fact that our colleagues from InnovationQuarter are involved in most of these developments enables us to provide warm introductions when international companies want to connect with them. The companies have indicated that this really helps them advance quickly with their plans.”
Outstanding business excellence
The growth of the life sciences and health community can’t be explained without mentioning the entrepreneurial vibe and high standard of business excellence in Greater Rotterdam – The Hague.
Sharon: “Erasmus School of Management and the affiliated Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship in Rotterdam hold a very strong reputation in business excellence, which brings forth highly successful entrepreneurs and companies. Not only their knowledge, but maybe even more so, their vibe spreads across our community.
Lissa: “Incubators for startups are an important asset in the startup hubs in the region. YES!Delft has held the top position in the rankings for university-affiliated incubators worldwide and has locations in Delft, The Hague and Rotterdam. The new biotech-focused unlock_ incubator at the Leiden Bio Science Park is a great new asset. The management has extensive experience in entrepreneurship specifically in the area of Life Sciences business excellence. We see many startups in these incubators grow and successfully bring their technologies to patients or to the market, which creates additional value for the entire life sciences ecosystem in our region.”
Our goal together is to continue to strengthen the Life Sciences and Health ecosystem in the Netherlands and through these many collaborations bring innovative solutions faster to the patients here in the Netherlands and around the world.
Sharon, Sasja & Lissa look forward to connecting with you soon!
