Trade mission for startups to Collision Toronto

Toronto tech scene

Toronto is home to a thriving technology community, including startups, established companies and Big Tech such as Google, IBM and Microsoft. There is a strong focus on artificial intelligence and smart city technologies. Also, the Toronto-Waterloo region has a favourable climate for talent and investment, making it a global centre for new start-ups.

Looking to grow your tech startup and scale your business? Toronto is a great springboard to enter the North American market. Join our trade mission and discover what the region has to offer.

Why participate?

The aim of the mission is to support promising Dutch startups in their international growth. Together we want to advertise the Dutch startup ecosystem. Participating in Collision 2023 offers you a great opportunity to:

meet with potential investors, industry leaders and other tech companies;
present your product or service to a large international audience;
test your product or service;
attract new customers or partners;
generate media attention.

For whom?

You can participate if your startup:

has developed a product or service in the technology field;
is registered as a legal entity with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK);
has a growth-oriented mindset.

Do you not exactly fit the profile, but do you have a convincing motivation? Then explain on your registration form why you should not be missing from the Dutch delegation to Collision 2023.

Programme

We are still working on the event, so the programme can be subject to change. For now, the programme is as follows:

Date	Event
25 May	Collision Bootcamp Mandatory preparation event for the mission. The bootcamp takes place in Rotterdam during the Upstream Festival, to which you will have free access.
26 June	Welcome to Toronto (around 12:00 local time) Enjoy food and drinks and meet with the Dutch delegation and diplomatic mission in Toronto.
27 - 29 May	Collision 2023 Visit the Collision event, with plenty of meetings and side events throughout Toronto.The NL Lounge at Collision is your base for networking, meeting and presenting your product or service.
To be confirmed	NL Networking event A large, interesting networking event on an exciting location somewhere in Toronto.
To be confirmed	Optional visit to Velocity Waterloo University One of the largest and most successful university-based incubators in the world.
30 June	Debrief During a light brunch, we will evaluate the mission. Your fresh feedback is very important to us. Follow-up with the local network can also be arranged during this session. The mission ends in the afternoon; you will be able to catch a flight from 17:00 local time onwards.

Attending and registration

Full attendance is required

To make your participation as successful as possible, it is important that you are well-prepared and fully participate in the mission programme. This is why we ask you to attend the preparation meeting on 25 May in Rotterdam and the full programme in Toronto. If for any reason you are unable to attend, please consider sending a replacement or cancelling your application.

Register

Register for this mission. This is possible until Monday 3 April, 2023. Each participant must register separately. The language of communication is English.

A maximum of 15 startups can participate in this mission. RVO considers it important that participating companies fall within the scope and focus of the mission. Registration therefore does not automatically guarantee participation in the mission.

We also encourage women entrepreneurship. We do not select participants based on gender, but we challenge you to look within your organisation for women participants for the mission.

Cost

Participating in this mission costs €500 excluding VAT per company (maximum of 2 participants per company). This gives you:

unlimited access to Collision 2023;
access to the mandatory preparatorion meeting on 25 May in Rotterdam;
use of the NL Lounge as a meeting point during Collision 2023;
access to all side events and networking activities;
a chance to meet with the heads of technical universities and their valorisation departments;
a chance to meet with Dutch diplomatic representatives and their network partners;
matchmaking with potential clients, partners and investors;
matchmaking opportunities with potential clients, partners or investors;
the opportunity to sign contracts or Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in the presence of the Head of Delegation;
support from the Netherlands Consulate General in Toronto and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).

Travel and accommodation

Travel and accommodation are at your own expense. This also applies to meals and drinks, unless stated otherwise in the programme.

Participants are responsible for arranging their own travel and accommodation. After selection, you will receive some suggestions for travel and hotels. We advise to book as early as possible, as availability of hotel rooms will become more limited and expensive over time.

Organisation

RVO is organising this mission in collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Netherlands Consulate General in Toronto.

Want to know more?

In June, there are trade missions to 3 events: London Tech Week, Vivatech Paris and Collision Toronto. Would you like help choosing the best mission for your startup? We are here to help.

For information about Collision 2023, you can contact:

Rik Roeske, Project leader Collision 2023
T: +31 6 2551 6714
E: rik.roeske@rvo.nl

For the other 2 missions, you can contact:

Maarten Schweers
Project leader London Tech Week 2023
T: +31 6 2551 5675
E: maarten.schweers@rvo.nl

Marie Jeanine Citroen
Project leader Vivatech Paris 2023
T: +31 6 2941 3906
E: marie.citroen@rvo.nl

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