The Dutch initiative Startup in Residence Intergov (SiR Intergov) has won an EEPA award. The initiative won in the category Improvement of the business climate and promotion of entrepreneurship. The win was announced on November 11 during the final of the European Awards for Entrepreneurship Promotion in Copenhagen.
From left to right: Andreas Rahlf Hauptmann (EEPA jury member), Duncan Waardenburg and Hessel van Oorschot from SiR Intergov.
Innovative approach to social challenges
SiR Intergov is a collaboration of various governments and renews the way they address social challenges. By launching innovation challenges and collaborating with start-ups, a short-cycle, learning approach arises within the public sector. Start-ups receive intensive guidance, €25,000 innovation budget, and access to public knowledge, data, and networks. At the same time, civil servants receive guidance in their collaboration with innovative entrepreneurs. This way, the governments capacity to experiment quickly and scale effective solutions with visible impact grows. More than 150 challenges have been started through the collaboration, with over 1700 applications. 35% of the pilots lead to a sustainable follow-up assignment. SiR Intergov is a collaboration between the Ministries of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Justice and Security, Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature, Rijkswaterstaat, the provinces of South Holland, North Brabant and Limburg, and the municipality of The Hague.
Reform of the Payment Scheme SME INFRA©
The other Dutch participant was ‘Reform of the Payment Scheme SME INFRA©’, in the category Responsible and inclusive entrepreneurship. The ongoing need for pre-financing projects in the infrastructure sector puts heavy pressure on the liquidity of SMEs, hampers investments in sustainability, and slows the development of an inclusive society. To break this deadlock, the Payment Scheme Working Group presented an innovative payment scheme with which the initiators address the core of the financing problem. This creates room for structural improvements within the entire construction chain.
Last EEPA award ceremony
With the European Awards for Entrepreneurship Promotion, the European Commission has recognized innovation since 2006 and rewards the most successful initiatives of public authorities and public-private partnerships. They support entrepreneurs, for example, in developing entrepreneurial skills or with social, sustainable, and international entrepreneurship. The EEPA draws attention to examples and good practices of excellent entrepreneurship policy and creating a better awareness of the added value of entrepreneurship.
The EEPA awards will be presented for the last time in 2025. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs organized the Dutch preliminary round.
Want to know more?
Read more about EEPA and the previous winners.
