If you're a foreign entrepreneur in the Netherlands
you can benefit from a variety of financing options
on offer from the Dutch government banks and private agencies.
In this webinar
representatives of several organisations will tell you about these options.
And experienced entrepreneurs will share their experiences.
Before we start our conversation, I'd like to point out to our viewers
that a team of specialists is available to answer your questions.
So, do you have a question, then use the live chat option underneath the video screen
and one of our specialists will get in touch with you.
This webinar tells you all there is to know about the Dutch financing landscape.
How do you prepare yourself to get funding?
Which forms of funding can you find, and how do you sell your plan to your funders?
These are the topics we'll be discussing in the next 60 minutes
but first, let's take a look at this video.
The royal kingdom of the Netherlands is strategically located
at the North Sea coast between the United Kingdom and the vast mainland of Europe.
The country offers you a friendly investment climate
a highly developed infrastructure
and a population with an average spending income of over 30,000 euros a year.
Every year, more businesses from all over the world
start their business in the Netherlands. You are certainly not the only one.
The Dutch government welcomes this development.
However, preparation is the key to success.
We'll start this webinar with an introduction of the Dutch financing landscape.
I'm joined by René Kamphuis from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.
Geert Gladdines from the Dutch Banking Association
and Gerhard Nagel, co-owner Ter Marsch & Co.
Good to have you all here in the studio.
Well, to start off with you René
you're the coordinator for small and medium enterprises at the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.
Could you say that entrepreneurs from other countries are welcome here in the Netherlands?
They're very welcome in the Netherlands. To give an example
we provide services to 350 foreign companies a year.
That brings forth 10,000 extra jobs in the Netherlands.
And also, those companies invest for a total
of around 2.5 billion euros extra upon the Dutch economy.
So they're very welcome. -So I can hear, yes.
Which steps does an entrepreneur have to take
when he wants to apply for finance in the Netherlands?
First of all, you must have a visa and a residence permit.
And later on in the process, you have to register your company
at the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce and you have to finance your business.
That is, of course, very important.
So that's mostly the time, the first step you take to get your finance in order.
Later on, at the Chamber of Commerce
you can register your company in a few weeks.
So, if you're not from a European economic area
and need advice and information about a visa or residence permit
please watch the on-demand webinar Starting a Business in the Netherlands
on Business.gov.nl/webinars.
So, René, what does an entrepreneur have to know when he wants to apply for funding?
First of all, they have to prepare themselves very good.
The financing is never on your blue eyes
or just a talk with an employee at a financial institute.
You have to really prepare yourself and come up with good plans
good figures and well, you have to really have your details in place.
We'll talk a bit more about that later.
First, I'd like to welcome Geert Gladdines
who is a policy advisor with the Dutch Banking Association.
Welcome, Geert. -Thank you.
Can you give our viewers us a short description of the Dutch financing landscape?
Yes well, the vast majority of businesses will start their orientation process with the bank.
So that's the most straightforward, regular type of financing
and they'll either go for a normal loan or an overdraft facility.
But the options are widening. So business can use leasing, for instance
where they use a machine or vehicle
that stays in ownership of the leasing party.
But also factoring where you can sell your invoice in order to free up working capital.
Or for instance, Qredits which provides microfinance with a form of coaching as well.
For the more risk type oriented forms of capital
you can go to business angels, private equity, venture capital
which is also available in the Netherlands.
So, lots of options. -Yes, for sure.
It involves lots of paperwork, I presume. -Always.
But it's in the benefit of the investor, the bank and the entrepreneur as well.
If you provide a good plan upfront, you will make sure you have the right type of financing
for the kind of business that you're running, which is the most important.
Well, I'd also like to welcome Gerhard Nagel.
You started a burger bar in Rotterdam in 2013.
And now you run four of them. So, I'd like to start at the beginning.
How did you end up here in the Netherlands? -I was contacted by my Dutch friend.
In 2013, he had met a young, high-potential with an idea to start up a restaurant.
And the team needed some funding, the team needed financial knowhow.
And so I came onboard.
And what was your idea of the Dutch financing landscape before you came here?
I didn't really know about it.
But banks, financing institutions are pretty much the same everywhere around the world.
Is it really exactly the same in, for instance, your home country Austria?
Principally yes, it's all about risk.
No financing institution, no bank wants to lose their money.
So they'll go through a diligent process with you
to make sure they understand the business plan and they find it viable.
What's the difference with Austria?
The ease of starting up a business in the Netherlands
is probably better and faster than in many other countries.
That's good, a good reason to be here.
That's a very good reason to be here. -You started with three Dutch partners.
Did that help to get funding? -I think it helps.
We talked about it before: What would it be like for Austrians applying?
We'd run a higher risk of failing with four people not knowing the country.
You need local knowhow in running a restaurant, you need to know the market.
It's good to speak the language. -Yes.
And did you apply while you were in the Netherlands or were you abroad?
I was at the time still abroad.
It was just a business idea at the inception phase.
I was working with our commercial partner on writing a business plan
to ask funds from a local bank.
René, do you have to be present in the Netherlands to apply for funding?
Or is it possible to apply online, for example?
Yes, at the government instruments you can apply online.
Most of the instruments are applied online.
So you don't have to be in the Netherlands before you apply.
But later on in the phase of your application
you'll have to talk to someone in life being there.
So you have to be in the Netherlands to finish your application.
They want to meet you face-to-face. -Yes.
Does this apply to all types of financing? -Yes. Actually, it does.
There isn't an instrument of financial support that you can apply online
and not seeing anybody and start your business. That's not possible.
It's still personal. -Yes, it's personal.
Geert, the economy is doing well, but financing is still a bit of an issue.
What's important for Dutch banks?
In the credit application process and the risk analysis the bank is going to make
they'll look at whether an entrepreneur will make money.
If you make money, you can pay back your loan and interest payments.
And it's very important for the bank to make sure that you have cashflow
and also that you're able to absorb losses.
So you bring in your own equity, your own capital and that you can provide guarantees.
If, in the end, something wouldn't work out
that you will be able to pay back the bank with collateral.
And Gerhard, you also invested in yourself, didn't you?
I can absolutely confirm what Geert is saying. The bank is managing risk.
So they want to see you bring on some own equity
because if you don't believe in your own plan, why would they?
It's very important to work on your business plan
not only on the numbers, but on the supporting story.
The numbers and the story.
They have to build a unity and support each other.
But was it, well, did the bank actually ask you to invest yourself?
Or was it your own idea? -It's a prerequisite.
The bank is demanding 20 to 30% of equity otherwise they wouldn't fund you.
Okay, and how much did you invest?
For our first, small Ter Marsch burger bar we needed 200,000 euro
and we put our own equity in which was nearly 80,000 at the time.
What are the other demands of the banks?
They want to see some private, personal guarantees.
So, you also have to sign with your private will on to that loan.
Are you responsible as a private person?
Yes. -So, it's a little bit of a risk.
It's definitely a risk and that's why it's so important to do the homework
when you prepare the business plan. It's not an exercise for the bank.
It's an exercise to check if it's possible to make a profit.
Are cashflows coming out from the business proposal?
And Geert, are there types of businesses
that are more likely to get funding than others?
And well, maybe even the other way round.
Are there types of businesses that are less likely to succeed in getting money?
As a general rule, no.
Any business that comes to the bank will get the same treatment, like:
Will you be able to pay back the loan?
But there are types of...
It depends also on competition, on which kind of market are you in.
Is it business to consumer or B2B?
And there types of business, for instance, like clothing, construction
and retail, tailored directly also to consumers
that might be more susceptible to economic downturns making it more risky.
So that are examples where the bank will have different questions about guarantees
then, for instance, machinery construction or production companies.
It's safe to conclude that the higher the risk
the more of your own money you have to invest.
Usually yes. -Okay.
René, you've already told us
that international entrepreneurs are more than welcome here.
Is there a way that the Dutch government actually contributes
to encourage the Dutch financing landscape? -Yes, certainly.
For instance, we have SME guarantee schemes.
We have all kinds of subsidies, we've risk capital available for start-ups.
We also do a lot of advisory work.
I advise about 3,000 companies a year with my unit.
We work together a lot with the Chamber of Commerce
and we do a lot of activities together to reach out to the start-ups.
And the new companies in the Netherlands so we do a lot together.
It seems so. And do entrepreneurs actually make use of this?
Yes, they do and we try to reach out ourselves as well.
We are visible on our website
but we also work together with the Chamber of Commerce
with business.gov.nl
and we try to attend to as much as events as possible.
We're also available on a lot of places where entrepreneurs come together
like Incubators or special buildings for starting companies.
So, we have a lot of interaction and that's basically our main job.
Good, well, to recap: entrepreneurs are more than welcome in the Netherlands.
There is a wide variety of funding available
if you come very well-prepared. A simple handshake won't do.
Before you apply for funding make sure you have a valid residence and working permit.
I see we have a viewer's question and it's for you Gerhard.
Is it necessary to know people in the Netherlands
when you want to apply for a loan? -Yes.
I think it's good, it's helpful.
If you have local people who know the language, who know the ways
it's absolutely supportive in your plans. -Good to know.
Well, I'd like to thank all three of you: René, Gerhard, Geert
for all your experience and expertise, thank you for sharing.
If you want more information, please take a look on business.gov.nl
or ask your question to our chat team.