TECH.LAND Business Base.jpg

TECH.LAND Business Base

Program: EFRE / Just Transition Fund Duration: June 2026 – June 2029 Project budget: €1.5 million Public funding: €1.18 million Lead partner: IHK Nord Westfalen

Project Details

The TECH.LAND Business Base makes the Dutch-German innovation ecosystem more visible and accessible. The project is developing an open, data-driven platform that brings together information about companies, research institutions, technologies, and expertise on both sides of the border. With the help of AI, this data is enriched, yielding new insights into potential partners, value chains, and opportunities for collaboration. In this way, the Business Base helps companies and other organizations collaborate more easily across the border.<h2>Why is this important?</h2>Together, the Dutch-German border region represents an economy worth more than €230 billion, with approximately 480,000 companies and more than twenty universities and research institutions. Yet information about companies, technologies, markets, and expertise remains highly fragmented across various organizations, data sources, and national systems. This makes it particularly difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to find the right knowledge and technology partners, suppliers, or customers across the border.The TECH.LAND Business Base brings this information together and makes economic and technological connections more visible. In doing so, the project helps strengthen cross-border value chains, establish new collaborations, and better leverage the region’s innovation potential. At the same time, it increases the visibility of the Dutch-German innovation ecosystem within Europe.<h2>Who is the TECH.LAND Business Base for?</h2>The TECH.LAND Business Base is intended for companies and organizations seeking insight into the Dutch-German innovation ecosystem and looking to discover new opportunities for collaboration.The project is relevant for:<ul><li data-list-item-id="ecec4e96c20d81a5887be82d72ce5d591">SMEs looking for technology partners, suppliers, customers, expertise, or new collaboration opportunities;</li><li data-list-item-id="e7344b004684111e07f0f70ff1767b4e7">knowledge and research institutions seeking companies and expertise for research and innovation projects;</li><li data-list-item-id="eaea1ffde8b8925abbfb8ff5349e9f4e6">regional development organizations and cluster organizations seeking to strengthen ecosystems and value chains;</li><li data-list-item-id="e27f1b9ab2caf2b77fe617cf415999a8f">policy makers and other stakeholders who want to gain insight into technological expertise, business activity, and economic connections in the border region.</li></ul>The Business Base initially focuses on four strong technology clusters in the region: Energy &amp; Hydrogen, Circular Economy &amp; Recycling, Advanced Manufacturing &amp; Robotics, and Health &amp; Medical Technology.<h2>What does the TECH.LAND Business Base offer?</h2>The TECH.LAND Business Base is building a shared, data-driven foundation for the Dutch-German innovation ecosystem. Publicly available business data is aggregated, enriched with AI, and made accessible through profiles, maps, overviews, and interactive visualizations, among other tools.Among other things, the project is working on:<ul><li data-list-item-id="e555fcedd41b1b598941aa9b533ccc54a">an open and transparent database containing information about companies, research institutions, technologies, and expertise in the border region;</li><li data-list-item-id="eb68fef571bdce4cafc2b80c3879b0cde">interactive maps and visualizations that show where organizations and technological expertise are located and how they are connected to one another;</li><li data-list-item-id="e0e375808a74b612e26459476b77433fc">insights into cross-border value chains and missing or promising connections within the ecosystem;</li><li data-list-item-id="e9a43be4bb6fce4e2f72e997ebb379fde">AI-supported matching that helps companies and organizations find potential collaboration partners;</li><li data-list-item-id="e019cb77791167d83c45b34f78112fae7">structured organizational profiles that organizations can review, supplement, and keep up to date themselves;</li><li data-list-item-id="e50a17702f89284b65296243850f4f2c7">opportunities to further utilize insights from the Business Base in their own AI agents and digital workflows.</li></ul>Over time, this should result in a dynamic digital representation of the cross-border innovation ecosystem that grows alongside the region. In this way, the Business Base not only supports individual companies in finding partners but also provides insight into the economic and technological strength of the region as a whole. The model is being developed in such a way that it can later be transferred and scaled to other European regions.<h2>Which partners are involved?</h2>The TECH.LAND Business Base is being developed within the broader TECH.LAND partnership and brings together Dutch and German partners to better connect the cross-border innovation ecosystem.Project partners<ul><li data-list-item-id="ef2a7b25eaeb5480b5b2c86fe20870da0">IHK Nord Westfalen</li><li data-list-item-id="e1a8320772baf7e3517645b7c944ff127">FH Münster</li><li data-list-item-id="e67296b2298d0eb93d0da51f6782e214c">Center for Dutch Studies (ZNS)</li><li data-list-item-id="e0f1c1af590f69013b3d74028b5b6e6f4">Twente Board</li><li data-list-item-id="ea709611fe8ab95016f6ba2c52ed18fd4">Oost NL</li></ul>The project is receiving €1.18 million in public funding from the European Regional Development Fund (EFRE), the Just Transition Fund (JTF), and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Together with the project partners’ own contributions, the total project budget amounts to €1.5 million.<h2>Interested in the project?</h2>The TECH.LAND Business Base makes it easier to find companies, expertise, technologies, and collaboration opportunities in the Dutch-German border region. In doing so, the platform offers new opportunities for companies seeking cross-border partners, expertise, or opportunities within their value chain.Would you like to learn more about the TECH.LAND Business Base, contribute to its development, or discover what the platform can do for your organization? Please contact Michelle Jansen.Michelle Jansen Project Manager Tech, Oost NL 06 14 83 21 60 <a href="mailto:michelle.jansen@oostnl.nl">michelle.jansen@oostnl.nl</a><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:63.1%;"><img style="aspect-ratio:1007/436;" src="https://cms.thinkeast.nl/uploads/Business_Base_logo_a23cbe8be9.png" alt="Business Base-logo.png" srcset="https://cms.thinkeast.nl/uploads/thumbnail_Business_Base_logo_a23cbe8be9.png 245w,https://cms.thinkeast.nl/uploads/small_Business_Base_logo_a23cbe8be9.png 500w,https://cms.thinkeast.nl/uploads/medium_Business_Base_logo_a23cbe8be9.png 750w,https://cms.thinkeast.nl/uploads/large_Business_Base_logo_a23cbe8be9.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1007" height="436"></figure>

The TECH.LAND Business Base makes the Dutch-German innovation ecosystem more visible and accessible. The project is developing an open, data-driven platform that brings together information about companies, research institutions, technologies, and expertise on both sides of the border. With the help of AI, this data is enriched, yielding new insights into potential partners, value chains, and opportunities for collaboration. In this way, the Business Base helps companies and other organizations collaborate more easily across the border.