The Swiss Finance + Technology Association together with Holland FinTech organised the first Dutch-Swiss FinTech Trade Mission to Zurich on March 15th and 16th. Five events and sessions enabled Dutch based FinTechs to dive into the Swiss FinTech ecosystem and meet companies and major Swiss institutions. A delegation of 5 Fintech Startups and more than 10 people visited Zurich from the Netherlands. Our goal was to provide the opportunity to exchange information about the two ecosystems. The trade mission attracted over 100 unique visitors and consisted of more more than 40 B2B meetings between 10 Startups (Dutch and Swiss) and 5 Swiss companies, and 5 Swiss initiatives were presented. In addition, trade commissioners and investment promotion agencies from 4 countries (The Netherlands, Canada, Korea, UK) were part of the events. The counterpart trip with a Swiss delegation going to Amsterdam, will take place at a later point in time.  

Overview Agenda:

Day 1: March 14th (Zurich)

• Welcome Reception with the Dutch Ambassador
• Dinner with Investors

Day 2 – March 15th (Zurich)

• FinTech initiatives Switzerland
• B2B Matchmaking sessions  
• Open community event (including pitches)

Key highlights of the events:

Welcome Reception with the Dutch Ambassador (March 14th)

The Swiss Finance + Technology Association and Holland FinTech opened the Trade Mission with a special event hosted by the Netherlands Embassy and Niederer Kraft & Frey. The Keynote speaker was Stijn Pieper, Founder of Advanon.

FinTech initiatives Switzerland (March 15th)

During the morning session, Kickstart Accelerator, Digital Switzerland, the Canton of Zurich, Crypto Valley and the Impact Hub presented their offerings and opportunities towards local and international companies.

B2B Matchmaking sessions

The atmosphere in the room during B2B Matchmaking session was very vibrant and full of enthusiasm coming from representatives of 5 Dutch FinTech Startups, 5 Swiss Startups and Swiss companies. More than 40 B2B meetings took place, with the objective of starting fruitful cooperations. We wish the best for all of you!

Open community event (including pitches)

Switzerland Global Enterprise (SGE) provided the venue for the last event of the Trade Mission. The 5 Dutch FinTech startups and two Swiss startups, “Wealth initiative” and “Virtual Broker”, had the opportunity to pitch their business models in front of industry professionals and investors. The room was full and lots of questions were asked and answered. Finally, the networking apéro was an amazing way to end this two-day event.

Quotes

“This is the technology of the future, the bridge between the old and the new banking. Very inspiring!” Anne Luwema, Dutch Ambassador to Switzerland

“I really liked the set-up and the organisation, everything went smooth, it was highly efficient. Congrats; well done!” Sandro Schmid – AAAccell

“International connections are essential for a global affair such as fintech, and Swissfinte’s cross-border initiatives are practical enough to live up to this challenge.” Marc Rudolf – Greater Zurich Area AG

“Time well spent!” D.P. Kruyswijk – Virtual Affairs

“The event gave me the opportunity to meet with great companies and promising startups. It was short but intense and very valuable.” Andreas Pages –  Swisscom (Schweiz) AG

“Thank you for two wonderful, exciting and interesting days in Zurich. Bankers, visionaries, investors, tech people all together in an excellent organized event.  The Swiss Finance + Technology Association & Holland FinTech connecting people!” Natalia Cernea – Red to Blue

“Of the ten startups that we met, we expect to explore partnerships with three. That is an excellent outcome for an afternoon of meetings.” Barry Dooney – Thomson Reuters

“Great to build links between the entrepreneurial ecosystems in various countries.” Dessy Todorova- Virtual Broker

“Excellent update on developments!” Marco Hoogendijk – Deloitte AG

“It is great to see the co-operative culture in Fintech come to life in Switzerland! The Swiss Finance + Technology Association has gathered great entrepreneurs, investors and corporates to meet the companies we brought from the Netherlands, which really helped to do a deep dive in the Zurich Fintech ecosystem and start building business relations!” Don Ginsel – Holland Fintech

Key numbers:

• 5 Events and sessions, visited by over 100 unique visitors
• 5 Dutch FinTech startups
• More than 40 B2B meetings between 10 Startups (Dutch / Swiss) and Swiss companies
• Trade Commissioners and Embassy attendance from 4 countries (The Netherlands, Canada, Korea, UK)
• 7 FinTech pitches at the open event

Participants

Dutch FinTechs	Local FinTechs	Local Companies	Local Initiatives
Wolfway Virtual Affairs Flymble Red to Blue Privacy Valley	AAACCELL Innomatika Capnovum Lendity SonectVirtual Broker (pitch) WealthInitiative  (pitch)	Thomson Reuters Avaloq Swisscom UBS ZKB	Digital Switzerland Kickstart Accelerator Crypto Valley Kanto of Zurich Impact Hub

More information about the Going Global Initiative:

To expand the international relevance and to create tangible activities between different FinTech hubs, the Swiss Finance Technology Association is collaborating with a number of Global FinTech Hubs. Find more information on our Going Global Initiative here.

Join us for the Trade Mission trip to the Netherlands in May. Contact Julian Osborne at j.osborne@swissfinte.ch