When Groningen is mentioned in the news it is because the protests about extracting gas and where there are earthquakes. In general it is also known as a student city where there are more than 60.000 students. So how can this place be possibly denominated as the new Dutch Silicon Valley?
There is a rising number of tech companies establishing themselves in this city. It’s becoming more common to hear English around you. For example, the Client Innovation Center of IBM has an office there with more than 300 employees. When the company wanted to move to Groningen the municipality proposed to base outside the city next to the highway A7. IBM refused this since the idea was to be in the middle of city to allow their young people to be able to bike to work. The fact that IBM is here also is evidence of the fact that the city is not only a student city but also a city where there a lot a jobs to be filled. The city is transforming itself in a tech city of the North.
A proof of the above mentioned is the report of Deloitte Technology Fast50. This a yearly election where the 50 fastest growing tech companies are selected. In this year’s edition a total of 8 companies resided in Groningen. Taken more broadly in the province of Groningen there are on average more companies active in the internet-economy than in the rest of the Netherlands. Yet, events such as the biggest Blockchain Hacakaton in the SugarUnion factory went by unnoticed. Only local new and international news was on site.
Entrepreneurs such as Mark Vletter or Marro Mijnans try to put the city in the spotlight to make students and the population in general aware of the possibilities in Groningen. Succes stories such as the one from Rory Ou. She emigrated to Groningen from San Fransico. Benefits she encountered where less commute time and the social welfare in general. Less people living on the streets and municipalities who are open and friendly.
In conclusion: is Groningen becoming the new Dutch Silicon Valley? Eindhoven is known a the high-end technology city, Leiden is known for it biotechnology and Delft for its automotive technology. Enough cities with enough tech so what makes Groningen unique? Is is the fact that it has the most tech companies and is not known for a particular type of technology? Maybe the fact that business here do something with technology? Obviously, this city is nowhere near the being a resemblance of the original Silicon Valley but can it become the Dutch version? The basic question is: what makes Groningen stand out in terms of tech?
https://fd.nl/futures/1274016/zelfs-uit-silicon-valley-komen-ze-naar-groningen
Interesting question. I agree with you that at this moment no one thinks of Groningen as a big tech city. Manly because there are no tech universities situated there. If you look at municipality of Twente with Twente university, a tech university with a tech campus, it will be more likely for the Dutch Silicon Valley to move over there. They have the space and a very suitable campus. In terms of Groningen, it as an old city, in order to have a “Silicon Valley” over there the municipality would have to designate a spot near the city for this new tech campus. I’m saying that I think there a better destinations for a “Dutch Silicon Valley” than Groningen.
Hi Paulina, thank you for sharing your post! I studied in Groningen myself, and I can tell you, during the week, it is a real student only city with many internationals and a huge campus dedicated to the science department. More over the University of Groningen even has a professor who won the Nobel Price 2 years ago!
The only reason why this amazing city probably will not become the next Silicon Valley, is simply because it is too far away from all the other cities, there is even a saying: “Er gaat niks boven Groningen” ( There is nothing higher than Groningen ) which definitely is true.
Hey there, thank you for your blogpost.
I actually studied in Groningen, I actually took part in some student research projects at the university that also looked at innovation cultivation and the creation of increasing ecosystem hubs in the city of Groningen. What is making Groningen so attractive to many tech firms is not only the incredibly increasing amounts of research conducted at the university and its partner school (The Hanzehoge School) but also the vast amount of new startups that are growing in the city.
What we looked at is that Groningen is becoming the 2nd leading city in the Netherlands with ‘successful’ (profitable) startups, next to only Amsterdam. Groningen actually has 3 startups that were ranked in the top 50 Dutch technology startups (as stated by Deloitte (2017)). The three are (1) VoIPGRID, which provides solutions to any problems that telecommunication companies might have, (2) Athleteshop, which just sells sporting products and related goods, and (3) Gadero, which provides different furnitures for on your lawn or patio and wooden decoratives. And these are just Groningen’s top 3 in 2017, they have about 6-7 other startups in the top 50.
Another reason why Groningen is becoming so attractive is the fact that a lot of its companies are already reaching markets all around the globe and are therefore becoming more and more recognised (e.g. Chordify and HackerOne). And just like silicon valley, the more successful firms that get established, the more likely an ecosystem of innovation gets created (at least in my opinion).
It is true however, that because Groningen is so isolated in the north, a lot of people don’t really think about the activities that happen there.
I believe that groningen (the province) will continue to create new opportunities as its ecosystem grows with more hub firms investing into it. For example, in Delfzijl (a city in the Groningen province) the largest solar-panel farm has been established (which funnily enough also Google’s data-center site in Eemshaven (another city in Groningen)). This contract between the solar-panel farm and Google is a big deal as it fosters a stronger ecosystem partnership – which, who knows, might further foster the ecosystem to include more and more firms.
Lastly, I want to mention that the government/municipality in Groningen contributes quite a lot to the fostering of more and more innovation and thus also startups. For example, the government wants to have Groningen completely energy neutral by the year 2035, which is no simple task.
What I am trying to get at (and sorry for the long post) is that yes I do believe Groningen will become a more important player in terms of innovation and technologically capable (in terms of the firms established there) in the future, and yes it might even become the silicon valley of the Netherlands – I wouldn’t be too surprised. In regard to your question of what makes groningen stand out, i believe the aforementioned facts are some of the reasons, but I believe that there are a number of facts that I didn’t talk about (like the fostering of more talent) that also contribute to the trend you mention.
Michiel Overwater
Oops, forgot to post the reference for some of my comments and ideas.
http://ab-mediacommunication.com/2017/10/25/why-the-netherlands-is-the-new-silicon-valley-groningen/