In a region where businesses know each other, opportunities arise sooner. But only if someone makes the connection.
Something that keeps striking me in Brainport Eindhoven: the knowledge a business needs is often just a few kilometres away. A supplier who's solved the same problem before. A start-up with exactly the technology an established business is missing.
Being close by is a huge advantage, but it doesn't work by itself. Businesses are busy with their own work. They don't know what their neighbours are doing.
Sometimes the shortest route to innovation is across the street.
For me, that's one of the most rewarding roles: seeing what's already there and connecting it. No new programme, no new platform. Just the right people having a conversation.
Christ van den Akker More about Businesses
