TECHTOUR 2015 – INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS MEETS TOP BELGIAN EMERGING AND GROWTH COMPANIES
06 May 2015
The Belgian Startup scene is more vibrant than ever, in the last few weeks alone, local companies UgenTec, Ojoo and Nallian have all received upwards of €1M in funding to expand their operations, while 4CGrid launches their new Geospatial platform and recent iMinds startup Airobot is on a mission to help drones fly more safely.
There are already a number of Belgian companies with successful exits including Clear2Pay (€ 375M), Ogone (€ 360M), Real Estate (€ 127,5M) and Twoo (€ 18.9 million) to inspire up-and-coming entrepreneurs who have their sights on future success. Other Belgian companies worth mentioning are the likes of Drupal (that powers the White House’s websites) and Engagor, the social media management and analytics company now operating in Europe and the US. When you add all of this up it shows that the Belgian entrepreneurial ecosystem is not only exciting but is maturing. The Benelux Tech Tour will play a key role in helping to facilitating entrepreneurship in the region by bringing a delegation of 80 investors to meet with the top 75 selected companies from the Benelux region (25 Belgian emerging companies and 13 growth companies).
‘’The Belgian tech scene is maturing in no small measure due to the fantastic network of support available to nurture and grow these young tech companies. We are privileged to have the support of such great organising partners, iMinds and Startups.be and our fantastic sponsors BDO, ING, the City of Antwerp, EEN and Cresco, who all form part of a dedicated support system for our entrepreneurial talent.’’ said Jurgen Ingels, Co-President of the Benelux Tech Tour.
ING bank Belgium, a key supporter of the event will host the May 19th programme of the tour at their facilities in Belgium. "The world of our clients is moving faster, day by day, and we want to support them with the required speed of innovation. Our purpose is to stay a step ahead in life and in business. Entrepreneurship and innovation is in our DNA and enables us to be present and to support our clients in their daily banking needs and expectations. The partnership with Tech Tour, combines all those elements, and makes it possible to play our role as a facilitator for the innovations of tomorrow." CEO, Rik Vandenberghe
BDO, one of the leading accounting and advisory firms with worldwide presence, has been steadfast in its support of the Benelux Tech Tour, helping the Tech Tour and organising partners in both Belgium and the Netherlands. ‘’We are delighted to be involved with the Tech Tour as a sponsor for this event because our interests are so aligned. The Tech Tour is promoting young innovative companies in the Benelux by facilitating investment that will help them expand their business. BDO offers these young companies help in the form of advice on everything from HR to taxes and financing so that we can handle the difficult issues and they can get on with what they do best, innovating!’’ say Hans de Rooij and Bert Kegels, Technology & Lifescience partners within the Dutch and Belgian BDO firms.
On day 2 the Benelux Tech Tour will move to Antwerp for a full programme on May 20th. As well as seeing the company pitches delegates will also have the chance to see some of the city with visits to Umicore and Materialise, a guided city tour, local beer tasting and finally a networking dinner at the Antwerp Zoo organised in conjunction with event sponsor and partner European Enterprise Network (EEN). "Antwerp is one of the new growth cities, a city of ambition with a policy that is geared towards economic development and innovative entrepreneurship. Antwerp is also a fun place to be and we are delighted that delegates will have the chance to see and get to know the city and to have some fun while they are here." said Dirk Diels, Director Business and Innovation, City of Antwerp.
Cresco has been instrumental in supporting entrepreneurs through the Venture Academy which took place earlier this week. “At Cresco, we are passionate about entrepreneurship and contributing to entrepreneurial growth through our support of high-tech innovative companies. For that reason we are thrilled to team up with Tech Tour to support the event and also to deliver our Cresco Legal workshop as part of the Venture Academy programme. The goal of the Academy was to provide entrepreneurial companies with the necessary know-how, insights and network to exponentially grow their activities and thus contribute to overall economic growth. It is also a fantastic preparatory session to help them refine their pitches before the main event in May.” explained David Dessers, Managing Partner at Cresco.
The Benelux Tech Tour will take place in Brussels, Antwerp and Rotterdam from May 19th – 21st, 2015.