We would like to bring to your attention an important development in Katwijk with a major impact on living, working and business. On the site of the old airbase Valkenburg, the new residential area Valkenhorst is being built. This new residential area will have 5,600 homes and commercial and social facilities.

Living

The neighborhood will have a village character with space for greenery, play and relaxation. There will be social rental housing, free sector rental housing, affordable and more expensive homes for sale. It is not yet possible to register for a rental or owner-occupied house in Valkenhorst.

Enterprise

Valkenhorst will have its own stores, schools, restaurants and other commercial and community facilities. Are you an entrepreneur and would you like to locate in Valkenhorst? Then submit your initiative to the Rijksvastgoedbedrijf.

In the middle of the area of former Naval Air Station Valkenburg is a collection of buildings and hangars. The buildings with spaces ranging from 100 to 1000 m2 have been sustainably renovated where several drone companies and companies with sensor-related technologies have found a place. There is a test field and indoor test hall for drones, also reservable for outside professionals.

Establishment and sales

If you would like to locate your practice, business or franchise business in the new Valkenhorst residential area, the Rijksvastgoedbedrijf would like to hear what ideas you have in terms of (temporary) facilities and commercial activities. Also, if you are interested in buying land from the Rijksvastgoedbedrijf, please contact them. For further information on the sale of properties, please visit biedboek.nl.

Eli Lilly investeert €2,6 miljard in productiefaciliteit in Katwijk

Water and greenery

In Valkenhorst, water and greenery are given an important role. Creeks and bicycle and walking paths connect the neighborhood with the various natural areas nearby, such as the Valkenburg Lake, the Mient Kooltuin and National Park Hollandse Duinen.

Sustainability

Valkenhorst is becoming a sustainable neighborhood. Attention will be paid to the climate, green energy and sustainable forms of transportation. The ambition is to develop Valkenhorst into an energy-neutral area. In this way, the neighborhood itself generates the energy it consumes.

The process

The Council of State declared the zoning plan irrevocable in January 2026. This means that the legal procedure has been completed and the Municipality of Katwijk can start construction. More information with questions and answers can be found on the website of the Municipality of Katwijk.

Our knowledge region offers plenty of opportunities for SMEs. Thanks to strong knowledge clusters and educational institutions, much expertise is available, and the region is developing rapidly in the field of technology and innovation. These developments offer opportunities to make companies smarter, more sustainable and more competitive. The question is: how can you, as an entrepreneur, make the most of this? Key Region Leiden helps you do just that. We bring you into contact with a relevant network, so that you get access to the knowledge and cooperation that will help your company move forward. This opens new doors and puts you on the map regionally. By strengthening your network in the region, you will be better prepared for the future. Therefore, hook up. Follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know about all developments.

From drawing board to practice

Innovation is not only important for large companies or top SMEs. The presence of innovation also has positive effects on broader SMEs, the nurturing economy. They often act as a schanierpunt, because many SMEs are the link between knowledge and the market. How that works. Large companies and knowledge institutions often develop new technologies, but SMEs provide application, production, service and distribution. In short: without SMEs, innovations often don’t get from the drawing board to practice.

The successful program for stimulating digitization in small and medium-sized businesses in the Leiden and Katwijk region is getting a sequel. Key Region Leiden, in cooperation with the province of South Holland, the participating regional municipalities and the regional entrepreneurs’ associations, will again offer the project under the name Digitaliseringwerkt.nl. Entrepreneurs can count on practical support, inspiration and concrete help over the next three years to make their business digitally future-proof. From first steps in online visibility and cyber resilience to applying data, online working and artificial intelligence (AI).

Concrete steps

Since 2021, more than 1,800 entrepreneurs have already been helped with workshops, vouchers and customized advice. Demand continues to grow; meetings are often full and vouchers are quickly sold out. In the next phase, the offering will be expanded to include additional focus on digital marketing, strategy and security as well as in-depth sessions for entrepreneurs who want to get started with advanced technology.

‘Entrepreneurs do not want thick reports but concrete steps that have an effect tomorrow,’ says Willem-Jan Zirkzee, board member of Key Region Leiden and chairman of Ondernemend Leiden. ‘With this offer we really make digitization work for SMEs. The previous project period proved that.’

In de praktijk

Angela Beresford (pictured wearing Phoebeees T-shirt) started Phoebeees as a creative business at the kitchen table, with a passion for workshops and children’s parties. But like many small business owners, she found that online visibility and attracting customers was a challenge. The webshop was up and running, but how do you make sure people find you and keep coming back? For this she used a voucher of Key Region Leiden, which was presented to her by alderman Romeijn.

With a voucher to digital growth

With the help of a voucher from this program from Key Region Leiden, Angela was able to bring in expertise. Together with marketing agency Danielle Social Marketing from Leiderdorp, she worked on her goals to improve her web shop, use social media strategically and attract more customers in order to increase sales and increase her brand awareness.

That approach quickly paid off: the Phoebeees.com webshop is now visited much more frequently, her social media channels are attracting more followers and interaction, and she is being asked more often for workshops and children’s parties.

Angela says: “Because of the advice, I started tinkering with my webshop and socials more professionally. I have become more visible and especially better known in the area. Right now I’m even working on putting my YouTube channel live – something that was really out of my comfort zone. “

Growth enterprise and local economy

Alderman Herman Romeijn emphasizes that digitization is an important growth opportunity for local entrepreneurs: “By making smart use of digital resources, small businesses can expand their reach and grow their sales. This strengthens not only the entrepreneur himself, but also the local economy. Phoebeees is a great example of how digitization and social media can make a business more well-known regionally. With the right guidance and use of digital tools, the step to growth is closer than ever.”

About Making digitization work for you

Let Digitization Work for You offers entrepreneurs in the region support in cashing in on the opportunities offered by digitization. Entrepreneurs can participate in free workshops, take advantage of free coaching or vouchers of up to €5,000 for projects such as website improvement, cybersecurity and digital customer interaction.

 

On December 15, together with the Province of South Holland, the Economic Board South Holland and more than 90 partners, we launched the Acceleration Program South Holland. In doing so, we are working to put the preconditions in place to unleash investment in the province of South Holland. Accelerate, Simplify and Connect is the advice.

Beneficial effects

The Acceleration Program helps to accelerate the expansion of energy infrastructure, organize space for sustainable and innovative business activity, attract and train talent, improve permitting and enable strategic investments. By accelerating together, projects can get off the ground sooner and we strengthen the economy, strategic autonomy and broad prosperity of Zuid-Holland.

Building bridges

Key Region Leiden is driving and building bridges between the knowledge economy and the region’s broad-based SMEs, the engine of our broad-based prosperity. We embrace the acceleration program because we see the importance of making targeted choices so that all the right preconditions are in place for innovation and entrepreneurship in Key Region Leiden. Together we are making South Holland ready for the future!

Joint approach

The Acceleration Program Growth Agenda South Holland is the joint approach of the province of South Holland, the Economic Board South Holland, governments, businesses and knowledge institutions to get the preconditions in place so that investments in our beautiful province will be released again. By working together faster on energy infrastructure, space, talent and strong investment proposals, among other things, we are ensuring that important projects actually get off the ground. In this way, South Holland makes a large and concrete contribution to the national goals for climate, housing, productivity and strategic economic growth.

Digitalization offers entrepreneurs in Voorschoten enormous opportunities to work smarter and more efficiently. An inspiring example is Firma Freek van Os, an installation company that took an innovative step with the help of a digitization voucher, presented by Alderman Paul de Bruijn.

Innovation in the installation world

Freek van Os specializes in water, gas, roofs, sewers, ventilation and sustainable measures. The company works with InSmart, an advanced monitoring system that remotely reads relevant values from central heating boilers via a module near the boiler. This system provides maintenance, warning, fault and advisory notifications, allowing maintenance to be scheduled more efficiently and preventing boiler failure.

The power of coupling: InSmart and ERP

With the help of the voucher, Firma Freek van Os has taken an important step: a link between InSmart and its own ERP system. Thanks to this link, the company automatically receives notifications about boilers and heat pumps that need maintenance in the near future. Normally, maintenance is carried out every 20 months, unless InSmart signals earlier. The ERP system then automatically generates a work order, which can be scheduled immediately.

Harm van Os says: “Maintenance is planned more efficiently, boiler failures are prevented and customers receive targeted energy advice. That delivers a huge efficiency gain for us as a company.”

Why is this important?

This digitization not only saves time and money, but also increases customer satisfaction. By preventing breakdowns and providing proactive advice, Firma Freek van Os contributes to more sustainable and reliable energy management.

Support from the municipality

The municipality of Voorschoten welcomes such initiatives. Alderman Paul de Bruijn emphasizes, “Digitization is an important driver for innovation and sustainability. Companies like Firma Freek van Os show how technology can contribute to better service and future-proof business operations.”

With this approach, Firma Freek van Os is an inspiring example for other entrepreneurs in Voorschoten: digitization works!

Leiderdorp’s Winkelhof has gained a Toko, and what a Toko! In addition to daily fresh Oriental meals, Toko Winkelhof offers a variety of Oriental ingredients and products. Owners Prins Sandhu and Gumukh Dhaliwal have digitalized their Oriental supermarket as much as possible. That will save a lot of work later. Our voucher from “Make digitization work for you” came in handy.

Everything renewed

The past few months have been hard work to get Toko Winkelhof open on time says Sandhu (38). Just about everything has been renewed in the storefront in the covered Leiderdorp shopping center. A nice fresh Oriental supermarket with a fresh food counter is the result. Fresh rice tables and other Indonesian dishes are on sale every day. There is also a small assortment of Surinamese dishes. And for those who want to cook for themselves, there is an extensive assortment of Japanese, Thai and Indian ingredients displayed beyond the fresh food counter.

Digital shelf cards and order kiosks

Scanning in all these products was an immense task, Sandhu says, “But it pays off, we think, to set it up right from day one.” Sandhu is no layman when it comes to digitization. As an interim manager, he improves ICT processes at government agencies. And his brother-in-law Dhaliwal also has a strong focus on improving processes. So when they decided to open a shop in the Winkelhof, digital shelf cards linked to stock and financial accounting could not be missed. They also chose two ordering kiosks for takeout. “Older people will still like to order at the cash register but the younger generation finds such a kiosk on which they can scroll past all the dishes much nicer.”

Slimme innovatie met inzet mkb-voucher

Digital linking saves time

The digital linking of inventory, sales, and financial administration is going to save a lot of time, Sandhu expects. “And it will provide us with good analyses quickly. With those insights and the time savings, we think we’ll recoup our investments.”

The two entrepreneurs’ time is precious. In addition to the new toko, they also run a wholesale Seafood business. And as if that were not enough, Dhaliwal is also a dentist and Sandhu an interim manager. “We come from true entrepreneurial families. Hard and a lot of work is part of it for us. Seizing opportunities, improving things. We love that.”

In the coming period, the entrepreneurs will be in the Winkelhof a lot. “We first want to experience for ourselves how everything works, and get all the teething problems out of the system ourselves. Only when everything is running well will we hand over tasks to our staff.” A next digitization step will involve marketing. “You have to be present on socials these days. So who knows, we might apply for a voucher for that in the future.”

Connecting on time

Sandhu happened to see the vouchers from “Make digitization work for you. “Through LinkedIn I think. I applied for one right away because we invest a multiple of the voucher in our IT.” The application was very simple and arranged in no time. “I can recommend it to everyone.”

He thinks it makes sense for the government to encourage SMEs to digitize. “The government is demanding more and more from entrepreneurs in terms of data exchange. So there is a shared responsibility there. I find it logical that entrepreneurs are then helped with that.”

He doubts that digitization is a high priority in SMEs. “When I look at our wholesale customers, I notice that they are not working on it. While it is important that SMEs become future-proof. So I understand the government’s focus on this issue. Entrepreneurs need to connect in time. Otherwise the distance to the modern possibilities becomes too great and you don’t take advantage of the opportunities.”

Digitaliseringsslag versnelt de intake

Take advantage of your opportunities as well

Do you also want to seize the opportunities of digitization? Then explore your opportunities together with our SME coaches. It’s free and will give you many insights. Go to www.digitaliseringwerkt.nl to make an (online) appointment. Would you first like to identify your opportunities yourself? Then fill in the Digi-scan. After 10 to 15 minutes you will know which profile suits your company and which next step you can take. With your personal score in your pocket, we would like to help you on your way with digitization!

Let digitization work for you is a program of Key Region and the participating municipalities of Katwijk, Leiden, Leiderdorp, Voorschoten and Zoeterwoude. The program may get a sequel in 2026. Don’t miss that info by signing up for our newsletter or follow us on Linkedin.

During a festive moment on location, Alderman Wietske Veltman presented a digitization voucher to Emill de Waal of Huschka, owner of the Huschka Group, specialist in security services and security training. With this support from the program Make digitization work for you Huschka has realized a digital solution that significantly simplifies the quotation process and makes it more sustainable.

Working more efficiently

Using the voucher, Huschka developed a smart link on their website that allows clients to digitally sign quotes. This replaces the traditional printing and scanning process and increases service speed and reliability.

“We wanted to make it easier for our customers to quickly and securely approve our quotes,” says Emill de Waal, owner of Huschka. “Through a unique link, the customer receives a personalized quote page, where digital signatures can be made immediately. The signed quotation is automatically saved as a PDF in our system. This saves us and the customer a lot of time and use of paper. Huschka scores again in the area of sustainability with this.”

Support from Key Region Leiden

This digitization effort was made possible in part by the voucher scheme of Key Region Leiden, an initiative that supports SMEs in the Leiden region in their digital transformation. Dwayne van der Klugt, project leader of the program: “Huschka shows how digitization not only improves internal processes, but also enhances the customer experience. This is exactly what the voucher scheme is for.”

Leiden municipality encourages digital growth

Wietske Veltman, alderman for the economy and president of Key Region Leiden is also enthusiastic about the application: “This shows well how targeted support works and helps entrepreneurs to work and grow smarter with digitalization. By stimulating solutions from, for and by entrepreneurs, we strengthen the SME and keep our region competitive and innovative.”

About the voucher scheme

The digitization voucher offers entrepreneurs in the region up to €5,000 support for projects such as website improvement, cybersecurity and digital customer interaction. Workshops and coaching are also offered, in addition to an online digi-scan. This broad program of Make digitization work for you, is implemented by Key Region Leiden for future-proofing SMEs.

You have to move with the times, but with the current (too low) rates for physical therapy, it’s hard to invest, knows Anne Kluivers of Voorschoten-based physical therapy practice Paulides + Partners. “So when you can get a subsidy for much-needed digitization and cybersecurity, that’s incredibly nice.” With the voucher from Let digitalization work for you, Paulides + Partners expanded its services with a clear app in which patients can find their exercises, among other things.

20 years of experience

Anne Kluivers has been in the Paulides + Partners partnership for three years. But she has been working at the Voorschoten physiotherapy practice for almost 20 years. Together with 17 colleagues, she ensures that Voorschoten residents can come to Paulides for just about any physiotherapy complaint.

For their patient data and administration, Paulides + Partners has been using a healthcare-proven software package for years. This package needs expansion and innovation to keep up with the times.

“Innovating is quite an investment,” Anne explains. “And in healthcare the money is not there for the taking. Especially not now that the rates for physical therapy have hardly increased for years. So the voucher from Let digitization work for you was really a godsend for us.”

Exception

Anne heard about this low-threshold grant opportunity at a meeting of Voorschoten’s business association. “I raised this great opportunity with my fellow partnership members and they also responded positively. We applied for the voucher through the Key Region Leiden (formerly Economie071) website and received an approval. In doing so, an exception was made for us to the rule that the voucher must be tendered to a company in this region. Our practice has been working with this vendor for more than 43 years. And within healthcare, it is incredibly important that we work to high safety standards.”

With the expansion of the software, Paulides + Partners can send its clients a questionnaire even before the intake interview. “That saves us administrative pressure and it makes the intake process go faster,” says Paulides + Partners. It also gives patients the ability to download a care app that lists appointments, physical therapy exercises being given and other information and tips.

The colleagues at Paulides + Partners with Anne in the middle of the bottom row.

Home Visits

The new software also allows physical therapists to access the system via their cell phones. That allows them to access patient records and schedule appointments during home visits. “It’s very nice to be able to access records securely via our mobile. It saves a lot of scribbles and notes on paper that have to be sorted out or entered later.”

The next digitization step is to automate part of all administrative operations using AI. Anne is very much looking forward to that.

“Like the rest of healthcare, we are weighed down by the administrative burden. All the data we have to enter takes up a lot of our time. If AI can take over some of that, it will be a godsend for the sector. But when that will be is still a question mark for me, too. I am a physical therapist, not an ICT or AI specialist. And as healthcare people, we prefer to deal with people, because that’s where our heart lies.

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Wondering what digitization could mean for your business? Check out our project site, complete the digiscan, schedule a coaching call and attend one of the workshops below.

• November 11 (Leiden or Leiderdorp): LinkedIn Branding using AI (for advanced students).
• November 18 (Voorschoten): AI: Opportunity or Crisis? What does AI mean for your business?
• Nov. 25 (Leiden) – Personal Brand on LinkedIn with AI (basics)

UPDATE 9 oktober: Het maximaal aantal van 60 aanvragen is bereikt. De mogelijkheid tot aanvragen van een voucher is daarom gesloten.

Vandaag, 6 oktober om 12.00 uur, kunnen ondernemers via onze projectsite een voucher aanvragen voor digitalisering binnen hun bedrijf. De regeling is bedoeld voor ondernemers uit de gemeente Katwijk, Leiden, Leiderdorp, Voorschoten en Zoeterwoude.

Uitdagingen en kansen

De urgentie om met MKB-vraagstukken rondom digitalisering aan de slag te gaan is groot. Wat nu gewone handelingen zijn, zoals online boodschappen doen, met je telefoon betalen, verschillende slimme apparaten met elkaar verbinden en op grote schaal digitaal vergaderen, was enkele jaren geleden nog aanzienlijk minder ingeburgerd. In hoog tempo landen deze ontwikkelingen in alle sectoren en maatschappelijke domeinen waardoor het impact heeft op iedereen. En dus ook op ondernemers in het mkb. Daar zien we dat digitalisering nieuwe kansen biedt, maar mkb-ondernemers tegelijkertijd ook voor nieuwe uitdagingen stelt om deze kansen goed te benutten. Kennis en tijd ontbreek vaak bij hen om goed aan de slag te gaan. Het initiatief ‘Laat digitalisering voor je werken’ helpt daarbij met coaching, workshops en een voucherregeling.

Het is een samenwerking van vijf gemeenten, de ondernemersverenigingen en de onderwijs- en kennisinstellingen uit de 071-regio. De vijf gemeenten die actief bijdragen aan dit project zijn: Katwijk, Leiden, Leiderdorp, Voorschoten en Zoeterwoude. Het project wordt mede mogelijk gemaakt door de Provincie Zuid-Holland.

Lees op de projectsite voorbeelden van ondernemers die al een voucher hebben benut, zoals Palfinger uit Zoeterwoude.