Internationalisering

Almost 1,100 new jobs in East Netherlands through business establishment and expansion in 2020

The number of jobs in the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel will increase with 1,100 in the coming years. The jobs will be generated by companies that - with the involvement of Oost NL - decided to set up or expand business in Gelderland or Overijssel in 2020. It concerns direct jobs. The number of indirect jobs that will be generated is a multitude of the estimate of direct jobs.

Nijmegen-218

The estimate of nearly 1,100 jobs in the next three years was made by the companies themselves, based on some €115 million of business investments. These companies are active in the sectors of Food, Health, Tech, Energy and Logistics. The United States is the most important investor in East Netherlands, by far. Also, the UK, Japan and South Africa were serious investors in the region in 2020. Furthermore, companies from Belgium, Austria, Singapore, South Korea, China and Russia invested. Next to this, Dutch companies from outside our region also set up business in East-Netherlands.

“The obstacles surrounding Covid-19 and the economic situation hamper acquisitions right now. If you take into consideration that, according to OESO, direct foreign investment declined over 40% worldwide in 2020, we are proud of our results. Results that are comparable to last year’s. Fine examples are the establishment of the American producer of meat substitutes Beyond Meat in Enschede and the establishment of the American high-tech company Odyssey RF in Nijmegen”, says Fons de Zeeuw, manager International at Oost NL.

Regional Development Agency Oost NL was involved in the business establishments and expansions by supplying information of a broad field, compiling bid books, organizing business visits and selecting business locations. Nearly 40% of the new jobs will develop in Overijssel and over 60% in Gelderland. Oost NL collaborates intensively with the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) in the establishment of foreign companies.

Wendy de Jong, general manager of Oost NL: “I see many cases of synergy between strategic acquisition of foreign companies and the strengthening of the innovative economic ecosystem. In 2020, Oost NL contributed in achieving over €77 million R&D investments in the region. Also, we invested tens of millions in businesses in our region and helped another 100 companies or more with a Corona-bridging loan (COL).

Export

The Oost NL program to stimulate international trade (GO4EXPORT) is also on track. Private and public regional parties are collaborating within this program to together support entrepreneurs in their export ambitions. Obviously, traditional trade missions and international trade fair visits were cancelled due to Covid-19 measures.

Nevertheless, 42 events (business events, trade missions, trade fair visits, etc.) were organized last year for the purpose of increasing international exposure of regional SMEs. Mostly digital. Some 400 SMEs from East Netherlands participated in the various events.

‘Invest in Holland’ - national results

‘Invest in Holland’ is a partnership of the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), together with Oost NL and other regional partners, that attracts foreign companies at national level. In 2020, 305 international businesses chose our country with the help of the Invest in Holland-network. These companies expect to create over 8,600 direct jobs during the first three years, and a 1,9-billion-euro investment in their projects. Although Brexit causes a constant stream of new businesses to come to our country, the attractiveness of the Netherlands to foreign companies declines due to Covid-19 and growing challenges concerning the business climate.

More information on the arrival of foreign companies to the Netherlands in 2020 at Invest in Holland.