Dear reader,
- Less than 3% of funding in the US goes to female founders
- Of all VC partners in the US, not even 5% are women
It’s almost incredible, but those are the facts. And I think numbers like that are an alarming indication of the hurdles facing female founders.This month we hosted the first female founders pitching event, together with our colleagues at the Consulate General in New York. I know we are late at the party, and I’ll admit it has been difficult for us to reach female founders for our programming and our trade missions.
We want to improve at that because female entrepreneurs bring new ideas and perspectives to a sector dominated by men. And the nine amazing founders in our event prove that the future is female, also in business.
This month also marks the return back to normal. We have hosted our first real live events and the pop-up consulate is coming to Los Angeles to renew passports. I’m happy to see you all again soon.
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All the best,
Dirk Janssen
Consul General
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Virtual Mission Circular Urban Development
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Fifteen Dutch companies embarked on a digital fact-finding mission to the US West Coast to explore future collaborations with American companies to develop the circular city of the future. Dutch Minister for the Environment Stientje van Veldhoven, launched the three-day mission with California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.
The participating Dutch companies all have smart and creative solutions for living a circular life: from recycling construction materials to wastewater treatment. The mission connects these companies to potential partners on the West Coast. In sessions with Culver City (CA), Phoenix (AZ) and San Diego, the companies connected to potential partners and exchanged solutions to create the circular city of the future.
In 2020, the Netherlands launched a public-private partnership aimed at circular urban development in the US, organized by Holland Circular Hotspot.“Innovation and collaboration are core to this transition,” said Minister Stientje van Veldhoven. “And these Dutch companies, together with the expertise in California and Arizona, can really make a big impact in closing the loop to a circular economy, a necessity for climate neutrality by 2050.”
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How can the circular city of 2030 look like? Meet Sam, a resident of the neighborhood of the future. Dutch companies have innovative solutions for circular development.
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Nine promising female founders from the Netherlands took the stage at the coast-to-coast event. They pitched their company to the world's leading tech ecosystems; New York and Silicon Valley and one of its most important VCs, SoftBank. The judges eventually named Josefien Groot of Qlayers, Merels Boers of Nico.Lab, and Esther Bisschop of Th3rd, as the winners. The event was organized together with the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York.
Holland in the Valley wants to contribute to a much-needed solution for the gender gap in business. They are extending their local network to include more female mentors. This event was only a first step in a much longer effort to support Dutch female founders in the US.
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Aftermovie of the Coast to Coast, Female Founders Event. The event was organized together by Holland in the Valley and the Consulates General of the Netherlands in San Francisco and New York.
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Outdoor and winter sports in Utah offer many business opportunities for Dutch companies. Join this round table, together with Orange Sports Forum and World Trade Center Utah.
With speakers: Marianne Timmer (Olympic speed skater), David Carlebach (World Trade Center Utah), Pitt Grewe (Governor's Office of Outdoors and Rec.), Calum Clark (Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation), Alex Adema (DPS Skis, Utah Outdoor Association) and Diana Seung (Jack Wolfskin).
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Pop-Up Consulate Los Angeles
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The Pop-up Consulate is coming back to Los Angeles. The consular team will renew passports of Dutch nationals in the office of the Netherlands Business Support Office in LA from June 14-17. Currently we have 188 appointments in 4 days, and a waitinglist. We're happy to be able to bring this service to LA.
The economic team of the consulate will also travel to Los Angeles to introduce Consul General Dirk Janssen to the economic opportunities of Southern California.
Soon our consular department in San Francisco will make more appointments available, bringing the number of hours back to pre-pandemic level.
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For the second consecutive year, the Netherlands couldn’t celebrate King’s Day the traditional way due to Covid-19. Also here in the US, there was no celebration in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco or on the beaches of Los Angeles.
Yet, we made sure that San Francisco was reminded of the most Dutch day of the year. City Hall turned orange and consul general Dirk Janssen had a message for everybody with an orange heart.
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King's Day message from Consul General Dirk Janssen.
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A special naturalization ceremony: 29 people became Dutch nationals through a Zoom meeting. Congratulations to all of you!
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