Dutch Regional Agencies Channel €1 Billion Into Innovation as Netherlands Strengthens Economic Competitiveness

2025-12-20 community

Netherlands, Saturday, 20 December 2025.
Nine Dutch regional development companies collectively invested over €1 billion in innovation since 2021, supporting 2,500 small and medium enterprises across innovation development, investment facilitation, and internationalization efforts to strengthen the Netherlands’ economic position globally.

Record-Breaking Investment Activity in 2024

The nine regional development companies (ROMs) achieved unprecedented investment levels in 2024, channeling €236 million through 538 innovation projects [1]. This substantial commitment brought their cumulative contribution to innovation since 2021 to the €1 billion milestone [1]. Simultaneously, the ROMs invested €215 million in 367 companies during 2024, expanding their total portfolio to 1,137 innovative enterprises [1]. These figures demonstrate the accelerating pace of regional investment activity, with 2024 representing a significant portion of the total four-year investment cycle.

International Investment Attraction Drives Job Creation

Beyond domestic innovation support, the ROMs successfully attracted 155 foreign companies in 2024, which collectively invested more than €2 billion in the Dutch economy [1]. These international investments are projected to generate over 4,500 high-value jobs in the coming years [1]. The attraction of foreign direct investment represents a critical component of the ROMs’ strategy to strengthen the Netherlands’ economic competitiveness and technological capabilities. ROM Nederland chairperson Wendy de Jong emphasized the regional approach’s effectiveness, stating that “Regional development companies act as catalysts, connectors and financiers, enabling innovative entrepreneurship from the region to grow into national and international success” [1].

Concrete Innovation Examples Across Dutch Regions

The ROMs’ investments are producing tangible technological breakthroughs across various sectors. In North Holland, DOPS is developing Direct Carbon Immobilization technology that converts difficult-to-process waste into reusable products like synthetic gas and activated carbon, achieving significantly lower CO2 emissions than traditional techniques [1]. The company addresses the challenges of waste streams including household waste, organic materials, and industrial by-products, which represent major concerns for many businesses due to CO2 emission problems [1]. This example illustrates how ROM investments are targeting both environmental sustainability and commercial viability in innovative solutions.

Strategic Focus Areas and Future Outlook

The ROMs concentrate their efforts on four key domains that align with national strategic priorities: digitalization and artificial intelligence, security and resilience, energy and climate technology, and life sciences and biotechnology [4]. They coordinate the SecFund, a €100 million investment program from the Ministry of Defense specifically targeting dual-use applications [4]. Looking ahead, the ROMs are positioning themselves as regional engines for implementing recommendations from Peter Wennink’s report on future prosperity, which emphasizes the need for increased investment in innovation, talent, technology, and execution [4][5]. De Jong noted that “ROMs are focused on areas where innovation pays off” and expressed readiness to “work together with regional and national partners to build further capacity” for the Netherlands’ future prosperity [5].

Bronnen

innovation funding regional development