©2026 Business Next Media Corp. All Rights Reserved. No.102, Guangfu S. Rd., Da'an Dist., Taipei City 106, Taiwan
The key role to glue the Netherlands and Taiwan startup ecosystem together
Dutch companies find Taiwan, a country 10,000 kilometers away, a perfect place to thrive. Guido Telman, a big fan of Taiwan who can also speak fluent Chinese, leads Netherlands Office Taipei (NL office) to play a key role in the burgeoning partnerships, boosting the transnational collaboration for various Dutch startups like Incooling, Sorama, and Van Moof.
The Netherlands and Taiwan, have close economic ties, as the bilateral trade volumes reach nearly USD$8 billion in 2019, a largest-ever growth of 41.1% compared to the previous year. The Netherlands has invested over US$35 billion (NT$1 trillion) in Taiwan, becoming the top foreign investor in Taiwan, according to the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).
Netherlands Office Taipei makes contributions to the prosperity, as the office provides information, support, and practical advice to Dutch entrepreneurs who want to enter Taiwan’s market, as well as Taiwanese companies who want to do business in the Netherlands. With the support from Netherlands office Taipei, Dutch startups seize their opportunities to thrive in Taiwan.
Information, Identifying the market, and Matchmaking
The Netherlands has seen a new wave of companies that are competing on a global scale, according to the report of Tech leap. With 8% annual growth, startups in the Netherlands are growing by leaps and bounds, faster than any other individual sector. For startups that are interested in developing in Taiwan, Netherlands Office Taipei would first learn their products and business models. After that, the office will actively seek channels to introduce the companies to Taiwan, including providing information on pitch events, identifying the market, and matchmaking.
The office keeps in touch with these companies to offer as much help as they can, according to Guido Tielman, representative and head of mission. To meet the demands of startups covering multiple fields, the office sets up its economic department, agriculture and food department, department for Netherlands Innovation network, and investment department, introduced René Beerepoot, head of economic department.
Sorama, an acoustic camera maker from Dutch, has built a broad network of Taiwanese clients and local business partners thanks to the office. The company first visited Taiwan in 2015 under a trade mission led by Eindhoven Mayor Rob van Gijzel to the Taipei Smart City exhibition. The office introduces Sorama to many potential partners in Taiwan. Gradually, the network forms. With the feature of identifying sound precisely, Sorama sound camera is now being used by lots of Taiwanese manufacturers like Cooler Master, Asus, and Giant, etc.
Incooling, an Eindhoven-base startup working on state-of-the-art cooling systems, has teamed up with Taiwan’s tech giant GIGABYTE since 2020. The partnership eventually worked out through a series of meetings set up by the NL office, including the expo, matchmaking events, and networking dinner. They collaborated to develop a new class of two-phased liquid-cooled servers. Incooling’s solutions perform at a higher level with the R161 Series server platform from GIGABYTE. A 10% increase in boost clock speed and 200 watts reduction of total power consumption can be seen in the results of their first system tests, Innovation Origins reported.
Netherlands Office Taipei gave Van Moof a boost, too. The world’s leading e-bike brand Van Moof who has opened retail stores and service hubs in 50 different cities globally, set up its Taiwan office early in 2014. The NL office had advised on the company’s application for product certifications in Taiwan and helped host a press conference at the Taipei Cycle show, in which they gave a presentation. Moreover, the NL office has introduced them to several networking events, in order to help them blend in with the local business ecosystem.
For Taiwanese companies who would like to do business in the Netherlands, the office welcomes them with open arms. NL office also works with accelerator programs like HighTechXL, to jointly boost startups to go further. HighTechXL, a deep-tech venture builder located in Eindhoven, would provide guidance to startups for growth and is excellent in connecting startups globally. Using a venture-building approach, HighTechXL manages to create an ecosystem of deep tech startups and pool talents all over the world.
Taiwan, the destination for foreign startups
Besides making connections with companies, InnoVEX Taiwan is also one of the leading trade shows that the office focuses on, as it links a great variety of technology entrepreneurs from home and abroad. The office would launch seminars, in which the Dutch startups can pitch themselves to Taiwanese companies, facilitating their entry into the local network and connecting them with potential partners.
In July of this year, the Taipei City government teamed up with Netherlands Enterprise Agency and Netherlands Office Taipei to host the online pitch contest that presents 6 Dutch startups. The winner of the pitch contest, Luxexcel, gets the chance to attend the soft landing program to explore business opportunities in Taipei City.
Through various media, Dutch companies are driven to do business in Taiwan. Not only because Taiwan’s technology manufacturing industry plays a vital role in the global supply chain, but also that Taiwan appears to be a good jumping-off point for those who seek opportunities in a large Asian market.
Startups are taking action. Netherland startup inPhocal is developing breakthrough laser technology to accelerate the efficiency of the marking industry. Hearing of Taiwan's strong technology industry, inPhocal wants to bridge with big techs like TSMC, Logitech, and Foxconn, etc, through Garage+, a program for global startups. Dutch mobility startup Swugo now lands in Taiwan to seek e-component supplier partnership, to further upgrade its e-bikes.
Guido Tielman, Representative at Netherlands Office Taipei, plays an important role in it. Fluent in Chinese, Guido is a big fan of Taiwan himself. From 1992 to 1994, He had been working as an economic advisor in the Netherlands office Taipei. And he came back as representative of the office last year and enjoys life in Taiwan very much. He strongly believes that further collaborations between these two small countries will leash out greater energy, for which Netherlands Office Taipei can help.
With the relentless effort and support from the NL office, Dutch and Taiwanese startups have seen a burgeoning increase in communications, connections, and collaborations. What Netherlands Office Taipei does is creating a friendly business environment, which allows startups from these two countries to pair up for greater success.
©2026 Business Next Media Corp. All Rights Reserved. No.102, Guangfu S. Rd., Da'an Dist., Taipei City 106, Taiwan