Government
Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO)
Government Business · Netherlands-wide
The Dutch government's enterprise agency, part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, running subsidy schemes, business and innovation support, and the official startup residence permit information.
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For somebody arriving to start a business here, RVO is the government side of it: where subsidy schemes are found and applied for, where the startup residence permit conditions are published, and where the recognised facilitators for that permit are listed. It administers schemes and publishes official information rather than investing, coaching or deciding immigration cases.
About
The Netherlands Enterprise Agency, RVO, is the Dutch government agency that helps entrepreneurs and organisations invest, develop and expand their businesses and projects in the Netherlands and abroad. It describes itself as a government agency that is part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and it carries out work for nearly all ministries, for decentralised authorities and for the European Union. Its published audiences are entrepreneurs, non-governmental organisations, knowledge institutes, policymakers and other organisations, and its stated job is to make government policies, schemes and subsidies available to them. Its topics run across business development, innovation, research and patents, international business and export, international development cooperation, renewable energy and climate change, urban development, agriculture, fisheries, animals and nature, and health and care. Three parts of that matter most to somebody starting or moving a business here. RVO publishes a subsidy guide, where you say who you are and what you plan and get back an overview of the schemes that fit. It publishes a support section for startups and scale-ups, covering funding, a network of organisations, experts and partners in the Netherlands, trade missions abroad where a founder can meet foreign investors, business partners and customers, and advice from the Netherlands Patent Office on protecting an invention. And it publishes the official information on the residence permit for foreign startups, including the conditions a facilitator must meet and the list of recognised facilitators for that scheme.
What they offer
Programmes
- Residence permit for foreign startups (opens in a new tab)
RVO publishes the official information for the Dutch startup residence permit, including the five conditions a facilitator must meet and the list of recognised facilitators. A facilitator is the business mentor a founder has to work with, must have experience guiding innovative startups, must be financially stable, and may not hold a majority interest in the startup or be a close family member. The permit itself is applied for at, and decided by, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service.
Good to know
- RVO runs schemes and publishes official information. It does not decide residence permits: an application for the residence permit for foreign startups is made to, and decided by, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service.
- The conditions a facilitator must meet, and the recognised facilitator list, belong to the startup residence permit scheme. Appearing on that list says nothing about an organisation's other commercial services.
- A subsidy or grant is never guaranteed. Each scheme carries its own conditions, budget and application period.
- Not every scheme is published in English. The Dutch-language site carries the complete list.
- A government agency, not an accelerator, an incubator or an investor. It makes public schemes available rather than investing in a company.
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This entry describes an independent organisation. How to in NL is not affiliated with them, listing is not an endorsement, and it does not mean they can help with your particular situation. Check the details on their own website before acting.