Willem Jan Zirkzee is chairman of Entrepreneurial Leiden.
“Within Key Region Leiden, we bring in the themes of 10,000 entrepreneurs with 70,000 employees. For example, Entrepreneurial Leiden is doing that in the area of zero-emission: entrepreneurs want that too, but they need a perspective before they have to go to zero. Or take urban distribution: entrepreneurs want the city to remain accessible, for example with hubs on the outskirts of the city, where residents and visitors can transfer to or from the center. A third theme is the development of business parks and the combination of education and the labor market. For that, Key Region Leiden is a good consultation, which should be continued.
Within Key Region Leiden, the government creates the conditions for cooperation. Entrepreneurs and education do not have the manpower to do so. Municipalities also bring parties together. Otherwise, without the role of government, a lot of thinking is still done in islands. We must work together, because the competition is not coming from within, but from without.”
Entrepreneurs should take the initiative together and come up with ideas at the front end, even before the municipality sets policy. Cooperation with education is important to us for such things as an Internship Pact and an Internship Scholarship.
Thanks to Key Region Leiden, there is progress. Otherwise, we as entrepreneurs wouldn’t be in it either, because we don’t have time to talk endlessly. We want results.”
A handy overview of our partners and projects can also be found in this swipe-zine.