Brabant’s entrepreneurial ecosystem on the rise: a top performer in the Netherlands
The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Index (EE-Index) evaluates how well regional environments support entrepreneurship. It looks at ten key factors, including talent availability, access to funding, infrastructure, business services, and governance. These elements collectively shape how easy and effective it is to start and grow a business in a given area.
Strong performance across the board
Heart of Brabant excels in areas such as:
- talent development and retention
- access to finance
- business support services
- quality of governance and institutional efficiency
The region is also making significant strides in leadership and networking—two areas that measure how actively companies engage in innovation projects and collaborate within knowledge networks. This broad-based growth reflects a thriving ecosystem that supports both startups and established businesses.
Knowledge, collaboration, and future potential
Jan Peter van den Toren of Birch Consultants highlights the region’s progress: “Years of investment in strengthening the multi-helix ecosystem are paying off. Heart of Brabant shows improvement in six key areas, especially in leadership, networks, and talent. Province-wide, access to capital has improved significantly, which explains much of the upward movement. However, there’s still room to grow—particularly in high-tech and life sciences R&D.”
A united effort for broad prosperity
Bas Kapitein, Director of Midpoint Brabant, emphasizes the power of collaboration: “Our region’s strong partnerships between businesses, educational institutions, governments, and social organizations are clearly driving this positive development. Through Midpoint Brabant, we work together on projects that enhance broad prosperity—locally and nationally. We also focus heavily on talent development and support for SMEs and startups.”
Theo Weterings, Chair of Midpoint Brabant, adds: “The strategic direction we set years ago is now bearing fruit. Our region stands out with its unique knowledge profile in human behavior, society, and data. Under the motto ‘Entrepreneurship, innovation, and experimentation with people at the center,’ we focus on entrepreneurship with societal impact.”