Keep an eye out, because we will tell you all about the finals next week.
Let's start at the beginning. What is Amsterdam Circular in a nutshell?
Amsterdam Circular helps early stage circular startups to get ready for investment. Circular startups are typically not suitable for venture capital or bank loans, so we help them to get access to circular finance, such as revenue-based loans, government funding, and blended finance. We support 50 startups per year, through two editions in the spring and autumn. For each edition, we select the Top 10 startups who will pitch at the Amsterdam Circular Finale event.
Where did the idea for this program come from?
"Amsterdam Circular was initiated by Gemeente Amsterdam with AMS Institute and Rockstart in December 2022. Guy Vincent was running fundraising programs for startups at Gemeente Amsterdam. He noticed the pain and frustration experienced by circular founders during fundraising. Amsterdam Circular was started to solve this bottleneck".
“Amsterdam Circular wants to bridge the funding gap for circular startups, while positioning Amsterdam as an attractive city for circular startups to setup and grow their company.”
Guy Vincent
Fundraising, Circularity, Internationalisation
How does Amsterdam Circular contribute to making Amsterdam (and maybe the world) more sustainable?
Circular entrepreneurship is vital for Amsterdam to transition to a circular city, however, circular entrepreneurs lack access to capital. The road to a circular economy does not stop at the border, so we hope to collaborate with national and international parties to unlock circular finance and contribute to the global transition.
What do you expect the future holds for the startups involved?
Financial innovation is necessary. The startups have undergone an investor readiness program with Rockstart and have been connected with both public and private investors. We have learned that we need to focus on strengthening Amsterdam's circular ecosystem. Next year, Amsterdam Circular will experiment with value chain collaborations, supporting startups and their value chain to reduce raw materials and CO2, while unlocking new value.
Keep your eyes and ears open for updates on next years Amsterdam Circular edition. And if you want to learn more about previous editions, click on the links below.
