Dutch Business delegation visits India – 13th – 18th November
India 16th November 2016: As part of the Amsterdam India Business journey, 13th-18th November 2016, A Dutch business delegation is visiting India to attract Indian businesses and knowledge institutions to the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. An over 20-member delegation will be visiting Mumbai and Pune essentially to explore opportunities in business active sectors like agrifood, food processing, automotive and the creative industry. The delegation will be led by the Minister of State of Noord-Holland, Mr. Jaap Bond.
Mr. Jaap Bond, feeling confident of a fruitful visit and a progressive future, feels - ‘The Netherlands and India have a special bond that goes back centuries. Today’s relationship between the Netherlands and India is driven by modern sectors such as ICT, the life sciences and logistics. Many major Dutch companies already have a successful and growing presence in India. Likewise, about 180 Indian companies are currently active in the Netherlands, over half of which are based in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. However, we see many opportunities to strengthen our ties even more. There is huge potential for Dutch businesses in India. As the delegation leader, I feel confident that this delegation – comprised of representatives of the Dutch business community, knowledge institutions and the local government – will bring our two countries even closer with even more economic and other opportunities for both. International talent is a key driver for attracting companies and investors. That makes attracting and retaining talent an important objective for us.’
Dutch companies accompanying the delegation
Lightwell
World leaders in developing innovative and sustainable LED-lighting. Their LED-lighting is rapidly conquering the world and is expected to be the norm in smart cities.
LiveOp
Uses intelligent software that helps rescue services by supplying real time information about the incident.
Proeftuin Zwaagdijk
A research centre for agriculture. They support innovation in the agricultural sector to ensure that we stay at the forefront of the global plant trade
EMS EvolVES
offers high-tech engineering and manufacturing solutions to the aerospace, nuclears, semiconductor and automotive industries
In 2015, a delegation from the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area visited the cities New Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai. The goal of the visit was to strengthen economic ties and offer knowledge and expertise about smart cities through Amsterdam Smart City. COBRA, an innovative, international avante garde movement, founded by artists from Copenhagen,
BRuxelles and Amsterdam, came alive through a collaboration with the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum. In the first of its kind initiative in India, football-loving kids of Mumbai experienced the Cruyff Courts coming to their neighbourhood. The Cruyff Foundation in partnership with Mumbai District Football Association (MDFA) broke ground for this unique venture during the last visit.
Amsterdam offers a complete business environment for established companies as well as start-ups and scale-ups. Amsterdam ranks 2nd in the European Digital City Index, a ranking on how well the cities support digital entrepreneurship. A natural test bed for innovation, because the local population and business world embrace technology and innovation. Therefore, it is the ideal place for start-ups to experiment, test and grow, as start-ups need access to users and business clients to do this. Some well-known start-ups and scale-ups that have offices in Amsterdam include Booking, Adyen, Tesla, Uber and Netflix.
Amsterdam’s spirit of commerce, excellent quality of life and competitive fiscal climate make it a magnet for global talent, start-ups and international company headquarters. There are many reasons for Indian companies to invest in Amsterdam, but the main advantages fall into four key areas: connectivity, the business ecosystem, liveability, and, lastly, value for money. Amsterdam is very competitive in comparison to other cities when it comes to costs for office space, labour, utilities, transportation and effective corporate tax rates.
Due to the fast growth of the economy (the prognosis for this year is 8%), India is a dynamic emerging market. The Economist expects India to be the biggest consumer market in the world in 2050, surpassing the US and China. This economic growth, combined with the need for smart cities, offers Dutch companies many opportunities in a lot of different sectors. The realisation that there is huge potential for Dutch businesses in India, is not a new one. Several Dutch companies have already established offices. Some examples are Philips, Unilever, Heineken, TomTom, Elsevier, DSM, AkzoNobel, and Shell.
The delegation is in India from 13th November – 18th November and will be visiting Mumbai and Pune
• Although the Netherlands are a small country compared to your beautiful country, we are confident that we can partner with India in the ambitious plan to develop these smart cities.
• In our view, a Smart City is a city where social and technological infrastructures and solutions facilitate and accelerate sustainable economic growth. This improves the quality of life in the city for everyone. We believe a smart city is a habitable city where it is pleasant to both live and work. A smart city is about citizens. It is more than a matter of technology.
• Amsterdam is home to the AMS Institute, a collaboration between MIT, Delft University and Wageningen University. At this multidisciplinary institute, engineers, designers and scientists work together on finding solutions to widespread urban issues: water, energy, waste, food, data and mobility.
Background information
• Indian company TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) has been the main sponsor of the Amsterdam Marathon since 2011.
• Mahindra Electric, a company that manufactures electric cars is exploring a sales and marketing presence in the Netherlands to sell its city cars in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and elsewhere in Europe (source: Times of India, November 2nd 2016).