Extra boost for SMEs in Key Region Leiden

Key Region Leiden has received a contribution of €100,000 from the Ministry of Economic Affairs to better support entrepreneurs in our region*. The allocation from the SME Services Action Agenda will be used to improve the connection between innovation campuses and entrepreneurs and to make the knowledge present in the region more available to SMEs.

*The municipalities involved are Katwijk, Leiden, Leiderdorp, Noordwijk, Oegstgeest, Voorschoten and Zoeterwoude.

Finding each other faster

The Leiden region has a lot of knowledge and innovation, but not all entrepreneurs know how to make use of it. At the same time, entrepreneurs have much to offer that the knowledge clusters can benefit from, but these worlds do not meet enough. “We are going to strengthen the interaction between our strong knowledge economy and the diverse SMEs in our region so that knowledge, innovation and market demands find each other better and faster,” said Leonie Hussaarts, director of Key Region Leiden.

Doing, learning and improving

The approach is concrete. “We want to land more procurement in the region, create more chain cooperation and ensure optimal interaction between supply and demand. The most important thing is that we are going to do, learn from it and improve ourselves,” Hussaarts adds. “In doing so, companies must also take a step forward themselves. With interested parties, I’m happy to engage in conversation.”

Get in touch

Broad prosperity

On behalf of the region, the Municipality of Leiderdorp was the lead agency for the application. Responsible Alderman Herman Romeijn: “We are happy to get to work for all those entrepreneurs who work hard every day in and on our local and regional economy. The stronger connections will have a positive effect on the earning capacity of the region and everyone benefits from that.”

• Luister ook naar het radio-item van Sleutelstad (duur: 18 min) in het programma Kennismakers.
• And the short radio interview (duration 5 min) with Central+.

Here’s what we’re going to do

• Demand activation: making entrepreneurs aware of their future questions and helping them translate them into concrete steps.
• Making connections: better access to knowledge institutions, innovative companies and regional networks.
• Pilots and collaboration: joint projects between SMEs, knowledge institutions and government to try out new ways of working.
• Learning and adjusting: continuously monitoring what works in our region and sharing these insights with other knowledge regions in the Netherlands.

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