Building a stronger innovation ecosystem: Rotterdam Square at EBZ meeting

At the Economic Board Zuid-Holland meeting on 27 March in the Rotterdam Science Tower, Rotterdam Square Director Ellen Smit spoke about the organisation’s ambitions and its growing collaboration across regional, national and European levels, with a strong focus on strengthening the Life Sciences & Health ecosystem and connecting health & tech innovation.

The EBZ also launched a new Startup & Scale-up taskforce, setting ambitious regional goals: doubling the number of startups, increasing the share of scale-ups from 19% to 25%, and working towards 10 international market leaders by 2037.

Further discussions addressed the impact of geopolitical tensions on energy prices, supply chains, and industrial competitiveness, as well as the challenge of allocating scarce space for future-proof economic growth under the new spatial planning frameworks (NOVEX and the National Spatial Strategy), in collaboration with partners such as TNO.

From Rotterdam Square, this meeting underlines the importance of strong ecosystems, collaboration, and focused growth to keep South Holland internationally competitive and innovative.

Date: March 28, 2026