News item | 28-02-2025 | 14:16
Digital infrastructure and technologies are the themes of the annual Mobile World Congress (3-6 March 2025) in Barcelona, Spain. Innovative Dutch companies present their products and services to international partners and investors. Minister Dirk Beljaarts (Economic Affairs) will meet on Monday 3 March during the MWC with Dutch participants, foreign companies and colleagues.
Innovative Dutch companies in the digital sector are, for example, strong in parts for infrastructure, cyber security, eHealth and consumer products. The dozens of participating companies and organizations have been collected at the fair in one NL pavilion. Sixteen Dutch startups are also jointly present at the simultaneous event 4 years from Now (4YFN) Where they show their latest innovations. It Mobile World Congress has been the largest trade fair in this area since 1987 with almost 100,000 visitors annually. More than 2,000 companies are present in total in Barcelona and make agreements about collaborations and investments.
Minister Dirk Beljaarts (Economic Affairs): “These entrepreneurs ensure that we remain the leader in the digital economy and reduce or prevent dependencies on other countries. Innovation is not a choice, but a necessity for our safety and a strong economy. That is why, for example, on the MWC, I support our tech companies and startups to find knowledge, investments and partners and to grow internationally. ”
Digital infrastructure
The Dutch digital infrastructure sector alone, including telecom companies, internet nodes, data centers and cloud providers, also contributes substantially to the Dutch economy (2% of the total) with 24.2 billion euros annually. Together with suppliers, they are also good for around 200,000 jobs. The contribution of the sector to the digitization of other industries and organizations is much greater.
In addition, the Netherlands is home from all kinds of companies from small to large that are part of the digital economy. Ranging from startups working on applications in areas such as AI, photonics, quantum, cyber security and care to global players in the semiconductor sector such as ASM, Besi, ASML, NXP and multinationals such as Adyen, Booking and Prosus.