A study by the Economic Board Utrecht (EBU) shows that employment at innovative startups in the Utrecht region grew by 18% in 2017. They far outstripped other SMEs, which revealed only 2% job growth over the same period. This is good news for the whole economy, as innovative startups ensure the necessary innovation of products, services and revenue models, allowing the Utrecht region to remain economically competitive.
The study, carried out on behalf of StartupUtrecht, also shows that the number of active innovative startups decreased slightly over the same period. Heerd Jan Hoogeveen, director of StartupUtrecht: 'These figures tie in with the improving economy in recent years. There are more vacancies and more people are opting for a fixed salary instead of launching a startup. However, the startups that do take the plunge are often of high quality, offer high growth potential and have a great chance to become an economic force for employment.'
It is striking that the survival rate of start-ups in the Utrecht region appears to be relatively high. Whereas policy research shows that an average of 50% of startups no longer exists after five years, the population studied by the EBU shows that this percentage is only 26% in the Utrecht region.
Hoogeveen: 'The geographical distribution of innovative start-ups confirms that we should not limit the scope of StartupUtrecht to just the city of Utrecht, but should continue to look at the whole region. No less than 29% of innovative startups are located outside the city of Utrecht, spread across the region from Bunnik and Stichtse Vecht to Woerden and Zeist.'
About StartupUtrecht
StartupUtrecht connects startups, scale-ups, corporates, investors, local authorities, banks and knowledge institutions in order to further expand the Utrecht startup ecosystem and allow it to grow. StartupUtrecht offers access to capital, corporates, communities and talent.
