Dutch Regional Investment Companies Pour Over 1 Billion Euros Into National Innovation Since 2021

2025-12-13 community

Netherlands, Saturday, 13 December 2025.
Nine regional development companies across the Netherlands have collectively invested more than 1 billion euros in innovation projects since 2021, supporting over 2,500 small and medium-sized enterprises. This massive coordinated effort represents one of Europe’s largest regional innovation programs, helping Dutch companies overcome barriers to capital access, technical expertise, and international market entry across three key areas: innovation development, investment facilitation, and internationalization.

Record Investment Performance Drives Economic Growth

The nine regional development companies (ROMs) achieved remarkable results in 2024, investing €236 million through 538 innovation projects [1]. This annual performance brought their cumulative contribution to Dutch innovation since 2021 to exactly €1 billion [1]. Beyond innovation funding, the ROMs invested an additional €215 million in 367 companies during 2024, expanding their total portfolio to 1,137 innovative enterprises [1]. The organizations also successfully attracted 155 foreign companies that collectively invested more than €2 billion in the Dutch economy, creating expectations for over 4,500 high-quality jobs in the coming years [1].

Strategic Focus on Breakthrough Technologies

The ROM investment strategy demonstrates particular strength in emerging technologies and sustainable solutions. In North Holland, ROM InWest supports DOPS, a company utilizing Direct Carbon Immobilization technology to transform difficult-to-process waste streams including household waste, organic materials, and industrial byproducts into reusable products such as synthetic gas and activated carbon [1]. This innovation addresses critical challenges around CO₂ emissions while creating circular economy solutions with significantly lower carbon output compared to traditional processing techniques [1]. The ROMs also coordinate the SecFund, a €100 million investment program from the Ministry of Defense specifically targeting dual-use applications that serve both civilian and defense markets [6].

Regional Specialization Creates National Impact

Each ROM develops specialized expertise aligned with regional economic strengths, creating a distributed innovation network across the Netherlands. ROM Utrecht Region, founded in 2020 with 51-200 employees, focuses on three strategic areas: Life Sciences & Health, Earth Valley innovation hub, and New Digital Society technologies [2]. The Utrecht region recently received a significant boost when shareholders of the Participatiefonds ROM Utrecht Region approved an additional capital injection of €26.1 million effective 2026, bringing total managed fund assets to approximately €100 million [2]. This expansion enables support for more innovative companies during crucial growth phases, particularly in digital transformation, health sciences, and sustainable living environments through 2029 [2].

Public-Private Partnership Model Proves Effective

The ROM approach demonstrates the effectiveness of multi-layered financing combining regional, national, and European funding sources to accelerate societal transitions and create sustainable earning capacity [1]. ROM-Nederland chairperson Wendy de Jong emphasized that “regional development companies as catalysts, connectors, and financiers help innovative entrepreneurship grow from regional success to national and international achievement” [1]. This model has attracted significant private sector engagement, as evidenced by recent funding rounds such as Laigo Bio’s €11.5 million seed financing announced December 4, 2025, which included participation from ROM Utrecht Region alongside major international investors including Kurma Partners and Curie Capital [8]. The success of this approach prompted the July 2, 2025 presentation of annual figures to a delegation from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate, attended by directors of all nine ROMs [1].

Bronnen

innovation investment regional development