Rabobank extends partnership with Brightlands Startup Challenge

Maastricht University, Soapbox and Rabobank have extended their collaboration within the Limburg-wide program Brightlands Startup Challenge by three years. Together they are committed to further developing a future-proof ecosystem for entrepreneurship in Limburg, focusing on young talent, innovation and social impact.

The Brightlands Startup Challenge offers students the chance to turn their innovative ideas, prototypes or research projects into concrete applications. The focus is on social themes, such as sustainability, circularity and health. This is done in close cooperation with a strong network of companies and organizations, who use their knowledge, resources and experience to guide and empower young talent. See www.brightlandsstartupchallenge.com

Luc Lebens, Director Soapbox and co-initiator Brightlands Startup Challenge: "The goal of the Brightlands Startup Challenge is to encourage students (mbo, hbo and wo) who have a social solution or the new business idea to take just that next step: from idea to prototype to startup. By driving the basis of the innovation and startup funnel in Limburg, the economic output for the region is accelerated. Precisely the startups of today are the innovative companies of tomorrow that provide jobs and growth for the BV Limburg. We are very grateful for Rabobank's support of this project, which is important for the province. Within five years, the seed should have been planted for the new Limburg ASML or Booking.com."

Monique Luijten, Cooperative Director Limburg at Rabobank, emphasizes the importance of this collaboration: "Rabobank sees the partnership with the Brightlands Startup Challenge as a valuable way to captivate, engage and leverage talent. By encouraging students to develop innovative solutions to social and economic challenges, we contribute to a resilient region. We are proud of our role in this partnership and look forward to actively contributing to the success of this challenge over the next three years."

The Brightlands Startup Challenge is a continuation of the Maastricht University Challenge. An initiative of Maastricht University and Soapbox. Because of the Limburg-wide approach (wo, hbo and mbo) and the cooperation with Brightlands, the challenge has been rebranded to this new name.

This collaboration is perfectly in line with the findings of the recent RaboResearch report on broad prosperity in Limburg, which identifies innovation as a crucial pillar for regional development.