Speech Mona Keijzer - opening Holland Tech Square, CES 2019
Deze toespraak is alleen in het Engels beschikbaar.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Holland Tech Square is now officially open for business! It's an honor to welcome you all here.
Dutch presence at the Consumer Electronics Show has become an excellent tradition. In 2015, there were only 2 Dutch startups here. But this year, I'm proud to say we are with 50. 50 Dutch firms ready to do business in the US, and with the rest of the world.
The startups here at Holland Tech Square will show you exactly what we have to offer the world. Here are just a few examples:
- a pocket-sized translation machine;
- a platform that makes smart devices work together;
- a robot that helps you sleep; and
- an app that can detect heart disease before symptoms even start to show.
Our companies are experts in a wide range of areas. But they have one thing in common. Not only do they save time and money, but they help to improve people's quality of life. They want to harness tech for good.
For us, the answer to challenges is always innovation. A big part of the Netherlands lies beneath sea level so without the Dutch spirit of innovation we would all be swimming.
We like to say we provide Dutchsolutions to global challenges. Some of our multinationals – like Philips, ASML and Shell – lead the way in developing innovative solutions. But startups also play a vital part. They combine creativity with courage. And that's why the Dutch government supports and encourages them. Together, we put the Netherlands on the map as an excellent startup ecosystem.
Special Envoy Constantijn and the StartupDelta programme play an important role in this regard. The programme supports startups and helps us to build the best startup ecosystem in the world. To do that, we need to show the world what we have to offer. And that's exactly why Prince Constantijn, myself, and over 50 of our startups are here at CES 2019.
Finally, I'd also like to say a few words to the Dutch startups here today. Dutch startups, I'm very proud of you. It's your motivation and your excellent ideas that got you here. I hope that while you're here, your motivation will grow, and your ideas will spread. So they benefit the Netherlands, and the world.
Thank you.