After a successful first edition in 2016, the City of Antwerp once again joined forces with various partners to organise the Antwerp Startup Fair, the fair for anyone interested in buying from, working for or investing in a startup. More than 65 startups, 117 investors, 182 potential job seekers and 106 buyers visited the fair on Tuesday, 28 March at De Shop exhibition hall.
For the second edition of the Antwerp Startup Fair, the City of Antwerp had brought together a number of partners in the startup landscape. The objective was to anchor a strong ecosystem in Antwerp, allowing private organisations, research institutions and government to work together seamlessly.
Investing in startups
The morning programme of the Antwerp Startup Fair was entirely centred on investing in a startup. As many as 117 investors, from business angels to investment companies and individual investors, signed up to meet promising startups.
Working for a startup
Startups create jobs. The startups taking part in the Antwerp Startup Fair were offering more than 50 jobs, ranging from IT developers to marketeers and people with a sales profile. They were also welcoming spontaneous applications, working students and interns.
"People who take a job for a startup can be sure they will work in an innovative and dynamic environment," says Stefan Goos, team leader account manager at VDAB. "As an employee you will have the opportunity to grow with a startup and to help build it from scratch. The structures are less hierarchical than in large companies, and tasks often less well-defined. You jump in where you are needed, which allows you to build experience in various fields, such as finance and marketing."
Buying from startups
The Antwerp Startup Fair invited managers and buyers to discover the innovative products and services of startups, thus multiplying their opportunities to do business. Start it @kbc founder, Lode Uytterschaut: "Last year when we launched the idea of a Startup Fair, the ‘buy from startups’ approach was widely supported by the startups themselves. On the one hand, a first reference customer will often make or break a startup's chance of success, and is of great value in capital rounds. It also gives the other established companies the opportunity to discover new innovations and increase their competitiveness accordingly."
The City of Antwerp and IT partner Digipolis are already leading by example with ‘Buy from Startups’. Digipolis uses 'Buy from Startups' to purchase IT from startups, which in turn helps them find customers for their products at an early stage. That way startups can grow faster.
