Internationalization at NOM: what about it?
![Gerard Lenstra 2021 01]()
Gerard Lenstra
The Invest in Holland network, commissioned by the government to attract foreign companies to the Netherlands, was involved in 327 investment projects by foreign companies in our country in 2022.
The focus was on attracting and retaining foreign companies in the Netherlands that contribute to sustainable economic growth and strengthening ecosystems. This is the result of the tightened strategy of the Invest in Holland network, with a stronger focus on companies that can help the Netherlands with solutions to societal challenges. This is what Minister Adriaansens of Economic Affairs and Climate wrote to the House of Representatives today.
Minister Adriaansens: "Foreign companies are important for the Dutch economy. More than a quarter of the money in the Netherlands is earned there. Also, 20% of the people in business work at a foreign company. So I gladly welcome foreign companies, especially if they can make our economy stronger, more innovative and sustainable."
Hilde van der Meer, Commissioner Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) and chairman of the Invest in Holland collective: "All over the world, companies are focusing on developing and producing impactful solutions to the challenges we face. By bringing these types of companies to the Netherlands, we make smart use of innovations that already exist elsewhere and strengthen our own economy. From this vision, we as Invest in Holland partners are focusing even more strongly on finding, approaching and guiding those foreign companies that can contribute the most in the areas of sustainability, innovation and digitalization."
Companies that chose the Netherlands in 2022 and are strengthening existing ecosystems include American Viz.ai and Finnish Neste. Viz.ai is a high-innovation company in the healthcare sector that develops innovative digital tools that can improve Dutch healthcare. Neste, the world's leading producer of renewable diesel and jet fuel, is helping to accelerate the transition to a circular economy with its products, thus contributing to the fight against climate change.
Increased investment in R&D and top energy sector
The 327 investment projects in 2022 involved both new establishments of foreign companies and expansion investments in the Netherlands. The top five sectors within which projects were supervised in 2022 were ICT (67), High Tech Systems & Materials (56), Life Sciences & Health (32), Agrifood (29) and Energy (23). Notable is the increase in the number of projects within the focus sector Energy (23, up from 14 in 2021). There has also been a positive trend for several years in the number of investment projects involving R&D activities (50 projects in 2022, up from 39 in 2021). Of the foreign companies that invested in the Netherlands in 2022, a third came from Europe (32%), followed by almost a third from the Americas (30%) and Asia (29%) and 9% from other parts of the world.