Amsterdam is the capital of Kingdom of Netherlands. Although it is the capital city, it is not the seat of government which is The Hague. It has a population of 832,563 and is the most populous city in the country. Amsterdam is located in the state of North Holland and is its largest city. The city derives its name from Amsteleredamme signifying city’s origin as a dam on the river Amstel. Its origin goes back to 12th Century as a small fishing village. However, by 17th Century, it became one of the most important parts of the world and a leading center of trade and commerce. It carved a name for itself as a leading center for finance and diamond trade. The city had a rapid growth in 19th and 20th centuries and many new suburbs were built around the old city. It is known for 17th-century Canals of Amsterdam.
It has emerged as the commercial capital of Netherlands and one of the top financial districts of Europe besides being ranked as an alpha world city. It is a major center for culture and arts too. The city is home to many Dutch institutions and seven of the world’s 500 largest corporations including Philips and ING have headquarters here. The city was ranked as the second best city to live in by a private think tank. Some of the famous Amsterdam residents were Vincent Van Gogh, Anne Frank, and Baruch Spinoza. The Amsterdam stock exchange is one of the oldest in the world. The city draws more than 5 Million international tourists annually.
What Amsterdam has to offer as Startup Eco system
Amsterdam, The Hague Eindhoven startup Delta is home to 2600 active High Technology startups as on date. Amsterdam attracts tech startup entrepreneurs due to its welcoming lifestyle and great startup infrastructure, and while it’s not as big and famous of a startup ecosystem as more prominent European counterparts like London or Berlin, it is certainly on a path to become like them.
Some of the success stories of Amsterdams eco system are Startupbootcamp, Nimbuzz and the first Dutch tech unicorn, Ayden. Even American hyper-growth startup Uber has made Amsterdam as its European headquarters to cater to the business needs of continental Europe. To further promote the ecosystems global impact, the Dutch government has recently launched Startup Delta, which is trying to unite and better allocate resources of the Netherlands that are currently spread over the country.
Amsterdam Eco system has a long way to go despite governments recent efforts to promote its cause. Some of the weak points of the ecosystem here is a lack of funding. Mainly the lack of seed capital and later stage funding hinders the growth of later-stage startups.
One of the salient points of ecosystem is here that due to small size of local market here, the entrepreneur here think global from the day one and on an average 50% of their customers are international
The Dutch government has liberal policies around immigration for gaining employment in Netherlands. Long term work permits and permanent residence can be applied by your future local employer. Government promotes the work permits for tech workers and highly educated persons under its various visa programs.
Sporting Facilities
If you are a sports aficionado then you have many major sporting arenas in Amsterdam.
1, Amsterdam Arena
2, Perry Sport Arena
3, Decathlon Arena
There are a lot of hiking getaways in and around Amsterdam, should you like outdoors and hiking, some of them are listed below ? A 20 minutes ride north-west of Amsterdam you will find Zaanse Schans , an amazing Dutch museum consisting of eight windmills, a cheese maker, a Dutch gin tasting room and a pancake restaurant each connected through a trail which is ideal for hiking, If windmills is what entices you then you can visit Kinderdijk throughout the year which has the largest collection of 19 windmills left in Netherlands. You can also see the inner working of the windmills free of cost or take a boat ride along the river.
River Rafting Near Amsterdam
Dutch Water Dreams is a man-made indoor white water rafting experience one can not miss if one visits South Holland. The instructors here are very friendly and keep a watchful eye over you should you land in a trouble.
Travel and Connectivity
Amsterdam is well connected by Highways, Rail, Sea, and Air. For local commute, you have Amsterdam Metro services which connect the corners of the city with each other thus offering a viable means of public transportation. One need not have their own car to move around in the city.
Night Life in Amsterdam
Amsterdam has one of the liveliest nightlife and music scene in the world. There are many big venues for live concerts by major artists not to forget those little pubs with independent musicians which leave a memorable experience for everybody alike. Whether it’s late night eateries, pubs, and nightclubs there are many options to choose from.