Rabobank has unveiled the Innovation Contribution at the Upstream Festival in Rotterdam, an initiative aimed at supporting early-stage startups in South Holland.
Founded in 2020, the Upstream Festival has quickly evolved into one of the most significant community-led events for startups.
Each year, it brings together over 2,000 founders, investors, and changemakers with a shared goal: building companies that contribute to a better world.
The two-day event offers everything startups need to grow, including a comprehensive main program and over 35 side events.
Why Innovation Contribution?
This financial support is designed for companies in the earliest phases of innovation, before generating revenue, acquiring paying customers, or establishing a proven business model.
The Innovation Contribution stems from Rabobank’s cooperative dividend and is specifically intended to enable first steps, such as building a prototype or carrying out a pilot.
This initiative is part of Rabobank’s broader approach, which, in addition to financing, actively leverages knowledge, advice, and networks.
Rabobank’s Startup & Scale-up Bankers operate from various regions and have access to a wide (inter)national network of accelerators, incubators, and other innovation partners.
“Financing is often difficult, especially in this vulnerable phase of innovation. The Innovation Contribution can make the difference between a good idea on paper and a first working concept,” says Robin Hempel, Startup & Scale-up Banker at Rabobank Zuid-Holland.
” We are launching the Innovation Contribution for Zuid-Holland during Upstream Festival 2025 in Rotterdam, the event for startups in the region and beyond. Starting entrepreneurs can immediately talk to us about their ambitions, and we will discuss how we can help to realise those ambitions,” adds Hempel.
The conditions and the application form for the Innovation Contribution will be available from the launch during the Upstream Festival via the Rabobank website.
Similar initiatives have already been successfully launched in other regions, such as the Rabo Impact Fund in Leiden-Haaglanden.
“Rotterdam is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and innovative power. We therefore wholeheartedly applaud Rabobank’s Innovation Contribution initiative. It offers startups the opportunity to grow faster from idea to impact. And that fits in seamlessly with our ambition to make Rotterdam a leading startup ecosystem,” says Deputy Mayor Robert Simons of the Municipality of Rotterdam.
