Digital transformation has become the next big frontier defining how businesses operate. A survey found that at least 77 per cent of CEOs have accelerated their digital transformation plans. Now, digitisation has not only found a new meaning but also became a shield for labour and productivity.

Its rise has been unequivocal among both small and large companies and there are companies like Sigli at the centre of this rapid change. From the periphery, Sigli looks like just another tech company, but its story is a confluence of engineering and business and the unity that comes out of it and has been helping companies meet their digitalisation goals for years.

Built on values

Sigli was founded in 2015 in Vilnius, Lithuania, after its founders had spent years working for big corporations with an engineering-first mindset. The four founders realised that engineering is important, but there is a need for unity between engineers and a business mindset. This led them to launch Sigli as a business-centric company with a razor-sharp focus on clients.

“We believe that any engineering solution is done by a human who is an engineer and who understands the business side of it,” says Maxim Golikov, Sigli’s Chief Business Development Officer and host of the Innovantage Podcast.

While the founders are still engineers at their roots, Golikov adds that there is often a gap in thinking between engineers and business people and when you bridge that gap, there is a lot of value to derive. This, he adds, is exemplified by Sigli’s three values: ownership, transparency, and service.

He says the company is built on a foundation where every person, regardless of their position, is encouraged to take ownership “because as a person, your capacity to bring value is much higher than any system that an engineer can develop.”

Golikov further adds that they encourage transparency for everybody, internally as well as externally, while service is the very basis of its existence. When they started, these values formed their backbone, while software development was its core service. Golikov tells me back then, it wasn’t even called digital transformation, but they did build the foundational blocks that are now called digital transformation.

Digital transformation

The way Golikov explains the rapid escalation in demand for digital transformation is different from any other narrative. He tells me that they have been solving engineering challenges for years but as the company got older and its clients became closer, the scope of the challenges also grew.

This challenge, be it engineering, technical or business, can be collectively dubbed as digital transformation. “And through the experiences that we’ve gained, through business experience, through technical experience, through product experience, we understood that we can bring more value to the table than just writing lines of code,” explains Golikov.

Most businesses start with basic services but as their client needs evolve, their capabilities evolve with those needs. Sigli’s story is essentially that where they started by solving engineering challenges before evolving to do projects with end-to-end delivery, looking at the problems of their clients through a business lens and applying digital solutions to solve them.

Even at this stage, Golikov quips, they didn’t call it digital transformation but once they added governance to their services, they began to officially call what they did – digital transformation. The three basic blocks of digital transformation for us came down to, building that relationship with the client, being aligned on the same level with them, creating that transparency through one of our values and again being focused on the end value that we bring,” he adds.

A great example of Sigli’s approach to digital transformation in action is the work it has done for Allkind Group, a leader in accessible technology for individuals with disabilities. With Allkind, Sigli reimagined their digital infrastructure by integrating AI capabilities to enhance both operational efficiency and customer engagement. The partnership led to development of intelligent features like personalised learning tools and automated support systems, tailored to the unique needs of Allkind’s audience.

“By aligning cutting-edge innovation with a deep understanding of industry challenges, Sigli demonstrated how digital transformation can unlock new possibilities for businesses dedicated to making a meaningful impact,” says Golikov.

Software as an enabler

When it comes to digital transformation, the three key things to consider are speed, efficiency and security. While that is true, Golikov adds that software is only an enabler because tech companies and startups are always after speed and efficiency while larger businesses are keen on security.

Since Sigli is based in Europe with offices in Antwerp and Vilnius, the company is uniquely positioned to deliver speed, efficiency and any additional securities, whether it is regulatory or governance. But the real challenge, he explains, is the resistance to digital transformation within non-tech companies.

“So a digital transformation project for a company that is not a tech business often means spending a lot of money on something very, very nebulous,” he says.

Since many old companies rely on legacy systems, digital transformation requires redoing everything from the group up and it can be a huge expense. Golikov states that such companies see digital transformation projects as an expense or as a revenue generator and with software as an enabler approach, they build a solution that is not only digital but also a revenue-generating model. He argues that the value of digital transformation is tied to technology and not derived from it.

Artificial intelligence

At the time of writing, 90 per cent of Sigli’s business comes from Europe while 10 per cent comes from the US. When the company started, it maintained a balance between the US and Europe but has found its business model and mindset more suited to European businesses. Golikov says the bulk of their business comes from Benelux with Belgium and the Netherlands driving a lot of business.

The company also generates a good amount of business from the DACH region, primarily Switzerland and Austria, with Germany not contributing in a big way. Insurance remains one of the biggest industries while education (or edtech) remains equally important. The clients of Sigli can be summed up as non-tech businesses like logistics to tech-focused businesses like e-commerce.

“I would say that we have kind of not an industry but a very heavy focus on data solutions, data analysis, business intelligence, data platforms, and AI,” quips Golikov.

He doesn’t hesitate to state the obvious – the tech industry loves its hype cycles but claims that AI is indeed the next big thing. He says AI has real applications and tangible effects that he hasn’t felt in a long time and adds that he didn’t feel this way about AR or VR, IoT, and even crypto or blockchain.

“AI seems to be more ubiquitous,” he says, before adding, “it seems to cover everything. All industries, all levels of management, all people, day-to-day business, governments, etc.”

While AI is the buzzword right now, Sigli has been building data-centric solutions for a while and AI is all about data. “Data is the bedrock of any digital transformation project because it is important both from a regulatory standpoint as well as internal security standpoint.”

How does Sigli approach AI? Golikov says they always ask whether they need AI to solve this problem and don’t use AI as a quick fix. He says to derive the best result from AI, it is important to understand the limits of AI and if there is good data in a project or a problem then that problem is likely to be solved by AI.

“A lot of companies just want AI for the sake of AI without knowing that it will hallucinate and give wrong information a lot of the times,” he adds.

He says it is important to understand the potential of AI but even more important is to know its limits. One way Sigli is already using AI is by connecting its chatbot with OpenAI’s large language model to improve customer service, assistance, and experience. The company is also using AI to help businesses solve challenges with patient diagnosis accuracy, supply chain optimisation, predictive maintenance, efficient grid maintenance, network optimisation, etc.

The use of AI in the logistics industry is a great example. Golikov tells me they worked with a leading provider of IoT-enabled freight solutions provider to transform their cargo tracking systems with AI. Sigli introduced AI-driven communication tools that enhanced operational insights and user interaction. This demonstrates Sigli’s deep understanding of the industry and its ability to think how AI can redefine experience before implementing it.

However, to succeed with AI, Golikov recommends looking at why AI is needed and what AI can do and then applying governance to achieve the best result. Afterall only 20 per cent actually use AI while only 5 per cent succeed with AI.

Structured growth

Without delving deep into the financials, Golikov reveals they have an annual turnover of €5M right now and a team of 100 people. In the next two years, the company aims to double that number to €10M while also doubling its team size. With the ongoing geopolitical situation and uncertainty in the market, the Belgian company is optimistic but also cautious.

The company aims to double its revenue in the next two years by following its play book in Belgium. He says by investing more in the region, they were able to grow their business and as the next step, they want to do the same with the UK. “At the moment we are considering opening up an office next year there,” says Golikov, adding they are looking at London, Reading, Birmingham or Manchester as a possible location.

If this expansion goes well, the company plans to continue to focus on Benelux and the UK while also expanding in regions like DACH and the US. shift its focus either to the US or the DACH region. They also plan to hire across a broad range of roles. One thing that won’t change is its business philosophy, which Golikov reckons is their north star. He says their growth and competitive advantage are directly linked to their business philosophy and company values.

ChatLicense, a Dutch startup that helps kids and parents navigate online life, won the Global Impact Challenge hosted by Singularity University and SYNC Ithra earlier this month. The challenge sought to crown a startup developing solutions in the fields of misinformation, cyberbullying, and social polarisation, and ChatLicense won out of more than 500 global entries.

Pew Research found that parents find parenting harder today than it was two decades ago and they mainly cite technologies such as smartphones or social media as a reason. While parents are willing to give their kids smartphones, they are worried about their intended use. Marjolein van Tilburg, who co-founded ChatLicense with Martine de Leeuw and Jasper Wessels in 2022, is no different.

Van Tilburg says her daughter and her first smartphone motivated her to create ChatLicense. “The first weeks she started using the device, I noticed how she and her friends used it quite differently than I had anticipated,” she says.

She likens the conversation Gen Alpha, those born between 2010 and 2024, have with their peers to that of a Wild West situation. While restricting screen time or grounding kids can have negative effects, Van Tilburg found a solution that not only brings moderation but also improves digital well-being. It’s called ChatLicense.

Licence to chat

ChatLicense is like a driver’s licence. When kids get their first smartphone, ChatLicense becomes the first app on their device. Like a driver’s licence, the app starts by teaching kids what they will experience on their phones and helps them learn how to deal with certain situations.

“The program is based on a scientific method to install media literate behaviour,” explains Van Tilburg.

In order to make learning fun and engaging, ChatLicense combines the journey with film, animations, and quiz questions. The idea is that by the time they complete their media literacy on the app, the kids are prepared for a digital world where they will engage by chatting, gaming, surfing the web, social media, online payments, cyber fraud, fake news, and other online influences.

While the app is aimed at kids, it also helps parents deal with their digital natives. Van Tilburg says they designed the app to be a digital learning platform for kids but parents are not left out. The app offers information and support parents need in this digital age since “we are the first generation of parents who have this added responsibility.”

The harm caused by social media is well documented and parents often tend to restrict access or take phones away as a way to protect their kids. While it is counterintuitive, the parental controls built into most smartphones haven’t proven to be entirely effective either. With its science-backed learning approach, ChatLicense is helping both kids and parents navigate a digital world where kids use technology and apps differently than their parents.

ChatLicense 2.0

As a B2B2C platform, ChatLicense works mainly with telecom operators, smartphone manufacturers, banks and municipalities to reach a large user base. “As all of them have a large customer base, with enough of these partnerships we reach all families, country by country and language by language,” says Van Tilburg.

I feel calling ChatLicense an app does a great disservice to the product that Van Tilburg and her team have built. It is a family tech solution that empowers parents and their kids to use their phones effectively and reliably. With a $250,000 cash prize from the Global Impact Challenge win, the startup is already setting its sights on scaling its solution.

“While introducing the smartphone later, screen time, and the right settings are all crucial, we know it’s not enough. We can give children a better start online by teaching them all about what they can expect as soon as they get their first smartphone, and that’s exactly what ChatLicense does for families,” co-founder De Leeuw says about the win.

Van Tilburg sees the victory as an important validation of their solution in Silicon Valley, the heart of technology. While De Leeuw gave the pitch, Van Tilburg says even the capital of tech realises that humans will play a crucial role even as tech continues to develop and adds that the cash prize will help them develop version 2.0 of ChatLicense while also enabling them to scale and deepen their data science approach.

The Rotterdam solution

ChatLicense is a quintessential Rotterdam venture, delivering a solution in one of the four key transition areas and making it happen with a clear focus on science and data. While it helps that both Van Tilburg and Wessels studied in Rotterdam and the startup has its HQ in Rotterdam,the real difference comes in the form of support and partnership.

Van Tilburg tells me that Erasmus University, one of the leading research universities in the Netherlands, is their scientific partner. The startup also counts the City of Rotterdam as a partner from the start, even before the app went live when the startup made it to billboards all over the city as part of “Rotterdam Digital Metropolis.”

She further adds the City Council of Rotterdam is invested in youth and supporting the next generation through Be The Future Festival. Rotterdam’s Digital Inclusion team gave school kids access to ChatLicense at the beginning of the school year as a digital well-being initiative.

When you make it happen, the ecosystem always helps but in the case of ChatLicense, Rotterdam has not only been a backbone but has also opened the door to many other opportunities. Van Tilburg says the “support of the Rotterdam ecosystem really came into motion” after their win at Upstream Festival.

During Upstream Festival 2024, Van Tilburg took part in the VIP roundtable on diversity and inclusion alongside Jörgen Raymann while back in 2022, the festival’s ‘Meet The Buyer’ event helped them meet KPN, which became ChatLicense’s first customer.

“It opened the door to many opportunities, such as participating in the Entrepreneurship World Cup in Riyadh. There, together with two fantastic other startups Kumasi and Pal, we were able to present our app on a global stage,” she says, before adding, “It is amazing to be able to say that we are in the top 8 of best growth stage startups of the world.”

Connected generations

The startup world can often look like a lonely place for women entrepreneurs but Van Tilburg, who has a background as a litigation lawyer, says she isn’t intimidated easily. A believer in the saying “It takes a village to raise a child,” Van Tilburg says Rotterdam feels like a village even though it is a city and calls it “our village” and a support system.

With the support of the port city and a capable team behind her, she says they are looking to a future where ChatLicense is the first app on every child’s first smartphone around the world. “This way we tackle the root cause of many issues families encounter,” she adds.

With ChatLicense as a starting point, she not only envisions enabling a safe and sane digital environment for kids but also relieved and supported parents. The net result, she says, is connected generations showcasing “Happy Cyber Vibes” and ends by saying this result is only possible if they all go “hand in hand.”

One of the biggest challenges facing businesses around the world is software development. While it has become ever easier to learn coding and write code, companies often struggle with the complexity of developing scalable, secure, and reliable software solutions. Into The Source, a Dutch scaleup is using innovative solutions and cloud technologies to help businesses overcome this challenge.

Tim Vogt, lead developer at Into The Source, says they go beyond surface-level analysis to understand the underlying issues and objectives faced by businesses to craft a bespoke digital solution that is both innovative and effective. The story of Into The Source is one of how a boutique scaleup can deliver mission-critical services while also being true to its vision.

Into The Source

The ideology of this Zwolle-based startup is linked to its name. Vogt explains that the name reflects its “commitment to delving deep into the core of our client’s needs and delivering tailored solutions.”

He adds that this approach allows the company to provide full-service software solutions, leveraging its team’s creativity, data expertise, and industry knowledge. With a client base ranging from sports, healthcare, construction, and retail, Into The Source offers services ranging from business analysis to software development and integration.

“We specialise in creating data-driven digital solutions that deliver compelling user experiences, optimise engagement, and maximise measurable outcomes, such as increased customer satisfaction and retention,” Vogt adds.

There are many challenges associated with web and software development but the most common is the difficulty to hire skilled developers, integrate legacy systems with modern technologies, and ensure that digital solutions are cost-effective and user-friendly. According to Vogt, the way to overcome this challenge is to make it easier for developers and businesses to create applications by offering comprehensive consulting services and leveraging cutting-edge cloud technologies.

“Our expertise in cloud-native development allows us to provide scalable, robust, and secure solutions tailored to each customer’s unique requirements,” he says, before adding, “We focus on building intuitive, user-friendly applications and streamlining development processes, which helps reduce the complexity and time required to bring applications to market.”

Challenges

Beyond software development, Into The Source faces challenges similar to any company operating in the fast-paced tech industry. For Vogt and his team of software developers and data experts, the primary challenge is to keep up with the latest technological advancements and manage complex projects with diverse requirements. It is also challenging to ensure data security and compliance while maintaining scalability and high availability in the solutions they build for customers.

It is very easy to see why talent is a major challenge in this space because Vogt never shies away from acknowledging that continually developing his team’s skills to handle evolving client needs is another challenge for them. “We need to optimise our operations to stay competitive,” he quips.

I thought delivering cloud-based solutions with scalability and high availability would be a challenge but Vogt says their team is well-equipped to handle this task. He further explains that working in the cloud requires careful planning, robust architecture, and continuous monitoring to ensure solutions function as intended.

It also helps that Into The Source has a reliable partner in the form of DoiT to deliver exceptional cloud-related services. “Our partnership with DoiT has been instrumental in overcoming these challenges, providing us access to expert guidance, tools, and resources to implement innovations effectively,” Vogt tells me.

Continuous improvement

When I quizzed Vogt on how Into The Source overcomes some of its challenges, he was quick to call the secret sauce of continuous improvement. In fact, the focus on continuous development or upskilling is so common that it feels like an addiction. Into The Source is also helped by its collaboration with DoiT and investment in its team’s skills and expertise.

Vogt explains their proactive approach to problem-solving and continuous improvement allows them to “tackle issues as they arise, ensuring we meet the high standards our customers expect.”

Into The Source offers regular training sessions and on-demand access to cloud experts and engineers to help the team stay ahead of technological trends. One such expert is DoiT and Vogt terms the company critical in helping the Dutch scaleup overcome cloud-related challenges by providing expert technical support and consulting.

“Their Cloud Reliability Engineers assist us with complex project requirements, troubleshooting, and optimising our cloud infrastructure. DoiT’s tools, like Cloud Navigator, offer insights into cloud usage, enabling us to make data-driven decisions to optimise our cloud usage and increase cost efficiency.”

For Into The Source, DoiT is not just a technical partner but an extension to its team since it helps build out their expertise and empowers them with knowledge and skills to manage and maintain cloud environments effectively. In addition to Cloud Navigator, Vogt states that they use Flexsave and Cloud Analytics to optimise their cloud infrastructure.

“DoiT stands out for its reliability, deep expertise in AWS infrastructure, and comprehensive support that empowers our cloud operations. DoiT provided a unique blend of cost efficiency, time savings, and strategic insights tailored to our objectives. Their proactive solutions helped us manage cloud expenses, optimise our infrastructure, and consistently deliver value to our clients, all while maintaining cost-effective operations,” adds Vogt.

Scale and security

As digital transformation and the adoption of AI models and tools gain popularity, the adoption or use of cloud technologies is set to grow exponentially. Vogt says they are uniquely positioned for this moment with a dedicated team of professionals focused on delivering high-quality digital solutions to its clients.

It also wants to continually improve and grow and plans to take on more complex projects by expanding its team, particularly in cloud engineering, data science, and software development. “Our goal is to attract top talent that shares our passion for innovation and excellence, ensuring we can meet the evolving needs of our clients,” he adds.

He sees DoiT as well-positioned to help them scale this mountain of cloud engineering and sees an opportunity for their partnership to evolve. In a nutshell, Into The Source wants to position itself to innovate and expand its capabilities while deepening its expertise in cloud technologies and enhancing its data-driven solutions.

Is it like James Bond & Q, Batman & Robin, Sherlock Holmes & John Watson and Tom & Jerry?

Have you ever wondered about the relationship between a startup founder and a VC? I am sure it is all fun and friendly if the startup is doing well, but does it get contentious, or is boardroom drama a common occurrence? In reality, it is a ride filled with several ups and downs, where VCs go from helping with fundraising to being the sounding board to solving a critical problem.

To find out how this relationship works, we spoke with Theodore Rozencwajg, Co-founder and CCO of D2X, the EU-regulated B2B crypto derivative trading platform; Matthijs Huiskamp, Founder and CEO of Altura, an AI-based workflow solution for teams working on RFPs; and Mitch Voskuilen, Founder and CEO of Billy Grace, an operating system for marketers.

All three say their VC has been a true partner in their journey. However, that partnership isn’t without its fair share of challenges and friction, but they both argue that finding the right balance between support and success is key to overcoming any friction.

Fundraise motivation and VC selection

Huiskamp says their motivation to raise funding from a VC was primarily to accelerate growth. With the demand for intelligent bid management growing, the Amsterdam-based startup needed the right partners.

Huiskamp tells me an early-stage startup is not looking for money alone but for partners “who understand your vision, can add real strategic value, and are ready to support you during both the highs and the inevitable challenges.” He adds that they were also looking for deep SaaS experience and a strong network in their industry.

D2X decided to fundraise because it needed capital to further develop its tech platform, obtain its licence and implement its go-to-market strategy.

Rozencwajg argues that one of their key selection criteria was the ability to support D2X with recruitment. Moreover, VCs that can help with sales and marketing have an advantage. For founders, it is also important to choose VCs who can participate beyond the initial funding round.

Voskuilen argues that the main reason for them to raise capital from VCs was to capitalise on the first mover advantage they have with their differentiating product proposition. “We are the only European platform that provides a holistic operating system for marketers. Hence, we want to win as much of the market before competitors appear and catch up.”

When it came time to select their VC partner, Huiskamp says they met over a dozen VCs, while Rozencwajg says they must have spoken to around 50 funds to form the syndicate for their Seed round. While 50 may seem a lot, Rozencwajg adds that it was only 1/3rd of the number of investors they met for their Series A. Huiskamp says every conversation with a VC gave them more insight into the type of partner they were looking for.

He further explains that they chose Fortino because of the personal connection they built with the people at the investment firm. “In our case, working with Investment Director Wouter Goossens was crucial in this final decision. His grit, sharpness, and overall personality made us want to work with Fortino,” he adds.

For Huiskamp, Fortino also stood out as a partner for its track record in SaaS and deep understanding of the nuances of enterprise software. “Their approach was very founder-friendly, and they took the time to understand our business. They had a strong cultural fit with our team,” he adds.

Voskuilen says he agrees with Matthijs that a strong personal connection was a key selection criterion for them when choosing their VC. “We were looking for a VC partner that has the same mindset and dedication as us. Someone with a lot of hunger for success.”

Rozencwajg further explains that they chose Fortino Capital because of its ability to support the follow-on rounds, the geographical presence and proximity played a key role as well. “Especially for a company like D2X operating in the crypto industry, a lot of the potential investors will be less sophisticated, based in offshore jurisdictions, and so on,” he says, adding, “Something we really liked was Fortino’s backing from the EU. That’s always a really good sign.”

“When it comes to selecting your VC investor, we always recommend founders to prioritise the personal connection they feel with someone over the brand and track record of a VC,” says Goosens. He adds, “Moreover, we believe founders should avoid surrounding themselves with ‘cheerleaders’ and look for VCs that dare to challenge and help them to see things they may not see themselves.”

The way of working with VCs

One thing is clear: VCs not only bring money but also expertise and network and help founders scale their businesses or steer them towards the right path. How do they expect these founders to engage? Rozencwajg says it depends on the stage of the startup. “I would say that the later stage you are, the less interaction you have with your VCs,” he explains.

Rozencwajg elaborates that they update their investors at least once per quarter and have switched to monthly updates for their largest shareholders. He further adds that they interact frequently to seek out advice “when we feel like we could use an external point of view on something.”

Altura’s Huiskamp says their interaction with its VC investors is regular through monthly check-ins or specific strategy sessions to overcome challenges or explore opportunities. “The expectation is that we maintain an open line of communication, ensuring they are up to date with our progress, but it’s a collaborative, supportive relationship rather than overly prescriptive,” he quips.

Voskuilen mentions that they have formal investor update meetings once every month, but there are multiple touchpoints throughout the week to discuss all kinds of ad hoc matters, often using voice messages over WhatsApp.

No relationship is without its fair share of friction, and the founder-VC relationship can get fraught fast. “Just like any relationship, there are moments where even when incentives are fully aligned, there are disagreements, and that’s okay,” Rozencwajg tells me.

Rozencwajg adds, “I think friction happens in these moments, where, for example, the company is undergoing a Series A fundraise, and there’s a time sensitivity element to it. Then, sometimes, not everyone sees eye-to-eye in terms of how to run a process. It was also a learning experience for us.”

Huiskamp says they have been in situations where priorities and approaches didn’t perfectly align. He gives an example of a situation where their VC partner pushed them to spend money differently or had a different view on growth paths. “However, these moments of friction have led to productive discussions that helped us find the right balance,” he adds.

Is there a way to overcome this fractious moment? Huiskamp, Rozencwajg and Voskuilen are unanimous in their view that communication is key to overcoming this challenge. They say both the founder and VC partner must ensure transparency and foster open communication, and as a team that is unified to solve world problems, these communication challenges are just another problem-solving exercise.

Goossens comments, “For us, the founder-VC relationship starts with trust and transparency – good news should travel fast, but bad news even faster. Moreover, we are firm believers in the ability to out-execute competition, which is what we seek from founders, and such a mindset is what founders can count on when partnering with us.”

The world of alternative investment is often seen as a glamorous world of private equity investors and venture capitalists. However, it is no longer dominated by LPs and GPs investing in fledgling startups in exchange for equity. In fact, the fastest-growing form of investment in the alternative investment space is private debt (or private credit).

In its 2024 alternative investment universe outlook, JP Morgan is overweight on the growth prospects of private credit, where the debt finance comes from funds, rather than banks, bank-led syndicates, or public markets. In May, we looked at how private debt has grown from billions to trillions in assets under management and the role of technology in making it “the primary strategy of the alternative investment funds across the globe.”

Norsad Capital, a Botswana-based impact investor and private creditor founded in 1990 as a Nordic-SADC multilateral entity, is not only proving that private debt financing can help mid-market companies grow but also writing a playbook on how private debt paired with technology solutions like PE Front Office can help build a resilient startup ecosystem.

What does Norsad Capital do?

As an impact investor and private credit provider, Norsad Capital offers tailor-made debt solutions to profitable growth companies delivering desirable social and environmental impact in Africa. Allan Mutenda, Chief Risk Officer at Norsad Capital, says their primary market is the SADC region with an interest in Eastern Africa. While its focus market is currently Southern Africa, it does have some investments in West Africa.

“Our goal is to positively impact the lives of 100 million Africans by 2030,” says Mutenda, before adding, “Our target market being mid-market growth companies within the region, the companies that generate strong financial returns, plus also positive impact.”

He adds that their private credit solutions have a ticket size between $5M and $15M but can consider investments below $5M to qualifying growth companies that generate turnover between $5 and $50M with EBITDA of $1.5B. From senior debt and mezzanine finance to unitranche, Mutenda says Norsad is all about extensive and flexible private credit offerings.

Why private credit? Mutenda explains that Norsad’s journey began in 1990 as a development finance focus and has grown and transitioned to private credit supported by eleven SADC DFIs, including its original four Nordic shareholders: Norfund, Swedfund, IFU, and Finnfund. Norsad has evolved from a sustainable investor into a thematic impact investor, concentrating on profitable ventures that tackle social and environmental challenges under the mantra of “profit with purpose.”

Our key priorities encompass sustainable livelihoods, financial inclusion, gender equality, and climate action, all of which align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As we refine our strategy in 2024, we focus on thematic sectors that promise the most significant impact at scale for our shareholders. Additionally, private credit generally offers a pathway for delivering higher yields to our investors, contingent on effective risk management..

Private Credit: Attractive but challenging

We can all thank Shark Tank for imparting a basic understanding of how private equity works but it is relatively unknown that private debt is seen to be more attractive to early stage and growth companies providing them with the necessary capital to scale their operations and pursue opportunities. Mutenda says this is because of their flexibility.

“The deals are structured to accommodate the needs of the individual investing companies, which is not always possible when it comes to banks,” he says. “We can play across the capital stack from stretch senior, unitranche and mezzanine across various tenures up to 7 years. We also provide various payment options such as amortisation, PIK, equity kickers and deferred payments to meet the needs of our investee companies depending on their cash flow cycles.”

While the flexibility is attractive, private credit providers like Norsad must also contend with the added risk this flexibility entails. “At the basic, it all starts with structuring the investment to suit the needs of the investee companies while ensuring downside protection for our investors so we can still offer a pathway for investors to realise desired returns through various exit strategies,” explains Mutenda. “If risk is not adequately managed, more so in the highly uncertain poly-crisis environment, private credit providers may find it challenging to attain sustainability, leading to unmet impact objectives and difficulties in returning capital to funders with acceptable returns.”

“I think the added challenge in our region is how to grow our deal pipeline of potential investee companies across multiple countries and consistently select the good investments from the potentially bad ones. Doing business in Africa is not for the faint-hearted while it can be rewarding, especially when leveraging local knowledge and partnerships,” says Mutenda. Norsad has a rich history spanning over 32 years of impact investing in Africa working with a wide network of partners including its 11 SADC shareholders.

He adds, “Private credit is a relatively new phenomenon in some of our markets. In SADC, for instance, bank finance dominates.”

In the operations of private credit providers, the challenge is two-fold: mobility and compliance. In 2023, Norsad initiated business process reengineering to make its workflows and supporting systems more agile and responsive to the changing financial landscape. Key focus areas included refining and improving workflows, identifying, and adapting supporting technologies, and enhancing compliance—not merely as a check-box exercise but as an integral part of the value proposition to our investee businesses to help them achieve sustainability.

One other way that Norsad Capital meets this mobility and compliance challenge is by trusting PE Front Office. This SaaS platform serves as the back office of major equity and private credit providers.

Discover the strategic advantage: PE Front Office

Mutenda explains that Norsad Capital views the PE Front Office not merely as a technological solution for booking transactions – whether in credit or equity – for mid-growth companies. Instead, he emphasises that the software platform facilitates end-to-end business processes that support the execution of “the investment thesis” throughout the entire investment lifecycle, from origination to exit.

After switching to PE Front Office, Norsad Capital and its investment team are able to look at compliance beyond KYC and static data posting. Mutenda says they have been able to automate a number of erstwhile manual processes such as covenant testing. “There is quite a lot of rich information you can derive from the system on investee companies almost substituting dependence on excel spreadsheets for covenants testing as an example,” Mutenda quips.

Like many other PE Front Office clients, Norsad Capital previously relied on spreadsheets, and Mutenda openly acknowledges the typical risks associated with their use, including the potential for human and modelling errors. However, he notes that the immediate benefit of transitioning away from spreadsheets is eliminating concerns regarding “MIS reports not being produced on time and accurately.”

This shift will save significant time and effort, enabling portfolio managers to focus on more value-added activities with client data available at the click of a button. “Moving away from Excel will save us a lot of time in terms of man hours attached to processing data and financial spreadsheeting from audited AFS and also Management Accounts that we receive on a more regular basis,” he adds

When I spoke to Mutenda, Norsad Capital had not fully migrated its workflow from spreadsheets to PE Front Office. The private debt company aims to fully migrate to PE Front Office by the end of the third quarter but Mutenda says they have already automated some workflows such as invoicing and indicated that the migration was seamless with the support of the PE Front Office team during implementation, customisation and testing phases. “Our portfolio companies will receive their invoices on time, generated automatically by the system and delivered to the emails without the risk of back-office staff forgetting to perform these simple but critical tasks on time ahead of due dates,” explains Mutenda.

With the migration to PE Front Office, they are efficiently able to manage their deal flow from origination to exit. “I think we found the workflow in PE Front Office quite helpful, easy to follow, customise and meet our requirements as a business,” says Mutenda.

He further adds that they were able to download the historical information they had in their old system while also booking new deals that were still in the pipeline. This ability of PE Front Office to migrate historical data coming in various formats meant that Norsad Capital’s team only had to ensure that their records stayed up to date before data migration, with the PE team also troubleshooting and picking up data gaps for our records to be complete. Strong collaboration of the PE team was evident in their approach to project implementation, which Norsad continually values.

During our conversation, I found Mutenda to be both analytical and logical. While he seemed to have mastered the use of technology to make investment efficient at Norsad Capital, he was also sharp about the delay associated with manual systems and the techniques needed to circumvent those delays.

With PE Front Office, he says they will be able to achieve their goal of becoming more efficient, and agile, and also be closer to the client and answering the right questions at the right time to management, board and regulators, including investors. For Norsad Capital, Mutenda says PE Front Office was the only system that met their end-to-end requirements both now and in the long-term during the procurement process. “PE front office meets our business requirements now and into the future,” argues Mutenda. “From a risk management and compliance point of view, I also think the MIS capability provides a good foundation to support some of our modelling activity.”

Growth opportunity

Like JP Morgan, Mutenda is optimistic about the growth prospects of private credit, particularly in the SADC region. He anticipates that regulatory pressures will continue to affect banks’ ability to support riskier segments of the market, potentially constraining the supply of credit to mid-sized corporations and SMEs, which presents an opportunity for Norsad Capital to help bridge the credit supply gap.

“I believe we offer LPs and institutional investors the chance to invest with us in thematic funds we may launch in the future, such as climate funds. This collaboration can help them achieve their impact objectives by partnering with Norsad and leveraging our strong presence in the SADC region and our robust shareholder network with local knowledge and presence, rather than investing directly in a wide array of firms across various countries. Returns in Africa are still good, despite the high level of risk. We offer a partnership platform that enables us to distinguish the strong opportunities from the weaker ones, and we will be better able to assist investors in managing their investments using our PE Front Office platform,” he adds.

Despite the prevailing uncertainty and poly-crisis environment, Norsad Capital remains optimistic about the ongoing growth of private credit. As assets under management rise, they anticipate that software platforms like PE Front Office will become increasingly vital for lenders to be fit for growth with the right technology front and back-office functionality. For Mutenda, the future is about not only leveraging technology for efficient investment processes but also enhancing the effectiveness of that technology through the integration of artificial intelligence.

The wheel, a circular device, has been pivotal in advancing human progress through innovation. However, if you ever wondered how the wheel can evolve in the 21st century then this Norwegian startup might have the answer. Founded by Rolf Libakken and Atle Tiemenes in 2013, wheel.me has been around for more than a decade but the startup is reimagining the role of a wheel in our ever-so-mechanical world.

Since its founding, the vision of wheel.me has been to find an easy and accessible way into automation. “Our vision is to transform any object into an autonomous mobile robot,” the startup says on its website. The idea for wheel.me came when Libakken had to help friends and family move heavy furniture repeatedly.

This personal help transformed into a product, a pop-up wheel that can be integrated into the legs of furniture. However, the idea didn’t stop there and turned into a vision that grew from moving furniture to moving anything with motorisation and smart autonomous behaviour. With Pål Rødseth as CEO, Svein Andreassen as CFO, Kjell Ivar as COO, Hanna B. Søberg as CPO, Mia Norman as VP of Engineering and Daniel Hjørnevik as Product Manager, the startup is transforming how we look at wheel and is becoming the automation startup to watch in Europe.

Hardware is complex

It is a well-known fact that building hardware is complex and for the wheel.me team, it wasn’t easy. Anmol Kandroo, DevOps Manager at wheel.me says the biggest challenge was to create a seamless hardware/software solution that’s both user-friendly and easily deployable. He adds that once the product was developed, it required extensive dedication and effort to meet customer expectations for safety and industrial compliance. “We have the highest safety standards for our solution,” quips Kandroo.

Today, more than 30 major customers use wheel.me’s robotic platform on different scales in America and Europe. The startup has also started gaining traction in other parts of the globe including Japan. Its rise mainly stems from its focus on collaborating with its key clients to develop a product that meets the industrial requirements.

Genius 1, the first-generation robot from the company, was the fruit of extensive collaboration and feedback. However, that collaboration led to more learning and they incorporated those necessary enhancements and compliance specifications into the design and development of its second-generation robot, called Genius, which debuted in Q4 2023.

Despite the success seen with improving its primary product, Kandroo says the company had to learn and unlearn a lot of things to make its product work for different customers. “For example, in an industrial manufacturing use case that operates 24/7, even though it looks very similar to existing use cases at first glance, we had a steep learning curve on hidden challenges like factory floor debris, complicated traffic areas, or dynamic environments that change every day,” explains Kandroo.

During the continuous process of deployment and enhancement, the startup also learned that they could manage a lot by improving their technology. One thing that cannot be overlooked is the “committed team on the factory floor, a clean environment, or small adjustments to the process that can make a huge difference in the long run.”

Meet Genius: Combination of robotics and AI

Genius is a set of 4 or 8 robots (or robotic wheels) that replace a standard set of caster wheels. The company explains the main wheel includes a set of sensors and a computer to navigate in the indoor environment and the combined system is used to transport things. This robot is further connected to a backend, which is hosted on the AWS cloud with serverless architecture.

“We leverage the AWS IoT services to manage the fleet of robots through a centralised application that allows us to collect data, create centralised maps, define missions and upgrade robots with the latest software upgrades in scale,” explains Kandroo.

He adds that automotive manufacturing is the largest customer for wheel.me right now since the technology offers a unique opportunity for automation by retrofitting existing processes with its wheels. “That allows them to scale up automation at their own speed without interrupting and redesigning their production,” he quips.

With robotics comes AI and the startup is currently leveraging AI at multiple levels like data stack for object recognition, smarter navigation, path planning, and predictive maintenance. However, like many other AI-driven startups, the wheel.me team also sees their use of AI as a start and envisions the technology playing a major role in bringing its robots to the next level.

AWS for scale and innovation

For its aforementioned cloud backend, wheel.me relies on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the startup says it is mainly because of its ease of use, affordability, scalability, and data privacy benefits. Kandroo says AWS helps them by providing a scalable infrastructure that is cost-effective, reliable, and flexible while also offering global reach and access to advanced technologies.

With AWS, he says wheel.me can focus on innovation and delivering value to its customers without worrying about infrastructure or operations. The startup also sees AWS as an ideal partner to support its expansion and development roadmap. “AWS offers many features and services in high scale and speed globally, making our own expansion and development easier, faster, flexible and reliable to adjust.”

With AWS, the wheel.me team says they are able to deploy faster and more reliably and since it is a small tech startup, Kandroo says AWS is great to work with and offers many opportunities and stability in the future.

Expansion on the cards

Wheel.me is a team of approximately 87 people and the startup is expanding its team, both in the US and Norway. The robotics startup is currently hiring for multiple roles across different departments like management, engineering, IT, and support.

While the team grows in the US and Europe, wheel.me is also looking to expand its operations by following the footprint of its global customers, who are expanding to Asia. With a business model that offers customers an option to purchase its solution, including the service and software platform, wheel.me is also offering a Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) model.

With its last funding round, wheel.me has built an automated factory in Norway where robots can build robots and is now focusing on enhancing capabilities across talent, hardware and the tech involved in building these robots.

The technological as well as operational growth of wheel.me in the past year alone is astounding. The startup has built a clever team that is pairing robotics with AI and ingenuity to bring autonomous robots to the automotive industry and other businesses. It will be interesting to see whether the startup becomes a genius like its product name in the coming years.

Who runs the world? Spreadsheets. While this is a reality across a number of industries, the alternative investment industry is not distant from the world of spreadsheets. Ankur Agarwal, co-founder and CTO of PE Front Office says before software and technology became ubiquitous, investment professionals depended on spreadsheets, isolated shared drivers, and in-house developed systems to manage investments.

“Back then, managing investments was a real grind,” he says before adding, “This made due diligence and reporting very time-consuming.”

This reliance on spreadsheets meant data was often siloed across various sources and getting a unified view of the portfolio became a chore. It also led to an increase in operational costs due to the manual work involved in data entry, reconciliation, and reporting. While VCs, PEs, and LPs worked with this outdated system, Agarwal says this crippled decision-making with decisions being reactive rather than proactive.

Even today, VCs and PEs with small teams begin with spreadsheets but they soon reach a ceiling where regulatory compliance becomes challenging, communication with external partners is cumbersome, and research and due diligence are labour-intensive. This paved the way for systematic tools like PE Front Office that transformed the way the alternative investment industry managed its assets.

Transformed with tech

Agarwal, who has more than two decades of experience in implementing large and complex business IT systems across industries, has seen firsthand how challenging it is to manage an investment portfolio. He says data management involved a lot of manual entry and reconciliation in spreadsheets, which wasn’t just repetitive but also error-prone. It meant due diligence was slow since investors had to rely on physical documents and manual checks.

This led Ankur to join hands with Anup Kumar Adlakha and start PE Front Office, a comprehensive and integrated suite of products designed to help alternative investment management. Software platforms like PE Front Office automate a lot of manual work and streamline data management, reporting, and compliance tasks, drastically reducing the time and effort required.

“This allows professionals to focus more on strategy and less on repetitive tasks. They can now concentrate on making informed decisions, optimising portfolios, and driving growth,” he explains.

While it may seem like software and technology now run the alternative investment industry, the reality is that technology only transformed the way investors invest in alternative asset classes only in the past decade. The investment as a process was always complex but what technology has done is significantly improved both scale and efficiency.

Agarwal adds, “With advanced platforms and tools, the landscape is revolutionised, and we can process and analyse massive amounts of data in real-time. This means more efficient due diligence, faster decision-making, and better risk management.”

Impact of technology

A combination of technological advancements, increased competition, and evolving investor expectations is leading to significant transformation in the alternative investment landscape. It all begins with automation, which has streamlined everything from data entry to compliance checks. Technology not only reduces errors but also frees up time for more strategic work.

Today, investment decisions are no longer based only on intuition and experience. Investors are increasingly leveraging advanced analytics and AI to gain deeper insights and make data-driven decisions. With technology, there is also growing emphasis on transparency and reporting leading to investors seeking more detailed and real-time information about their investments. This, Agarwal tells me, pushes firms to adopt more advanced tech solutions.

“Technology is driving more informed decisions, improving transparency, and fostering innovation in the alternative investment space,” he adds.

For private credit/debt, private equity, venture capital, fund of funds, real estate funds, LPs, and fund admins, AI is an indisputable force helping them sift through massive amounts of information quickly, uncovering patterns and insights that were previously difficult to find.

AI is, of course, helping them streamline operations by automating many of the repetitive tasks and now plays a crucial role in the due diligence process. “AI is a powerful tool that’s reshaping how we approach alternative investment management and driving the industry forward,” Agarwal quips.

Future of Alternative Investing

If technology is the first act in the transformation of the alternative investment industry then AI will be the second act. The use of AI is also drawing positive sentiment from private investors who see it as a tool able to deliver tangible benefits like faster analysis, more accurate forecasts, and improved operational efficiencies.

They also see the adoption of AI to be crucial to gain a competitive edge even if its use right now is limited to tasks such as data entry, reconciliation, and compliance checks. The use of AI to analyse large datasets and get more accurate forecasts is seen as table stakes but private investors are already preparing for a future where AI can do a lot more.

Agarwal sees AI’s role evolving to perform more strategic functions in the next five years. “The evolution will likely bring more sophisticated AI tools that can handle complex scenarios, support personalised investment strategies, and enhance overall portfolio management,” he predicts.

He sees AI becoming an integral part of investment strategies, driving innovation and providing even more value. For the past decade, the private investment industry has been a quest to deeply integrate advanced technologies and it will reach a crescendo when AI becomes fully integrated across the whole decision-making process.

The future of alternative investing, according to Agarwal, is one where tools become more sophisticated, predictive analysis and automated decision-making help investors stay ahead of trends and manage risks more effectively.

He adds that a big change will come in the form of a greater push towards personalisation with highly tailored investment strategies based on individual preferences while blockchain and other emerging technologies play a role in enhancing transparency and security.

“The future will likely be characterised by more advanced, intuitive tools that provide deeper insights, greater efficiency, and more personalised investment experiences,” Agarwal observes.

2024 started on an ominous note for the Dutch business climate. The year began with former ASML CEO Peter Wennink hinting at the company leaving the Netherlands. The semiconductor equipment maker is the country’s largest company and one of Europe’s most valuable tech firms. ASML assembles its machines in Veldhoven, which are crucial for manufacturing cutting-edge chips and the company has become a crucial lever in the ongoing effort of the US to clobber China’s chip industry.

Wennink’s warnings came amidst government policies aimed at curtailing migration and the decision to scale back a tax break offered to highly skilled immigrants. AMSL, with about 40 per cent of its employees in the Netherlands not Dutch and planning for an expansion, found these government policies at odds with its talent pool. “Ultimately, we can only grow this company if there are enough qualified people,” told the Dutch broadcaster RTL.

While the Dutch government’s “Operation Beethoven” successfully persuaded ASML to continue to invest in the country, there were gremlins of the decision in the air. For Dutch businesses and entrepreneurs, it was an existential question and many came to grapple with the idea of whether to stay or leave the Netherlands. Is there a looming tech exodus in the Netherlands? Well, the Dutch entrepreneurs see it as more noise than signal.

Tech exodus

After the cross-ministry effort to address concerns raised by tech firms like ASML, NXP, and others, the question of whether to stay or leave the Netherlands came to the fore once again when Bird founder and CEO Robert Vis announced his decision to leave the Netherlands. “I myself have zero problems paying a lot of taxes, but I just can’t reward my employees in a way that is beneficial,” he wrote, critiquing the ecosystem and citing tax burden, bureaucratic hurdles, and a lack of support.

“For example, countries such as Switzerland, the United States, and Singapore offer a much more favourable environment for entrepreneurs with a progressive vision,” he exclaimed.

While Vis is not alone in criticising the Dutch tech ecosystem, not many Dutch entrepreneurs are taking the exit route. “There is no rise in sentiment to leave the Netherlands,” Robert Gaal, the co-founder and CEO of Vesper, told me in an email.

In his rebuttal to Vis, Gaal, who had moved to the US, not only offered to stay put but encouraged other Dutch tech entrepreneurs to join his pledge to stay in the Netherlands. He says the sentiment of few does not make an exodus and “the perception that they speak for the majority is fundamentally flawed.”

“We are the OG builders of the future, and we’ve not stopped doing so,” he says before adding, “Any anecdotal evidence trying so hard to prove the opposite is misguided and misdirected.”

Jacqueline van den Ende, co-founder of Carbon Equity, a startup simplifying climate investing, agrees with Gaal and says the sentiment to leave the Netherlands is not as widespread. However, she is quick to point out the increasing political hostility towards migration is driving this false narrative. “The Dutch government is planning to reduce or cancel the tax incentives for highly skilled migrants which is likely to affect the competitive position the Netherlands has in attracting highly skilled talent from abroad,” she adds.

She also accepts that the Dutch tech ecosystem does not radiate the same energy it did a decade back. While that change in excitement in the Dutch ecosystem can be attributed to how mature the ecosystem has become, it does not negate the fact that other regions like the Middle East are experiencing higher levels of growth.

The interesting thing here is that Dutch tech entrepreneurs are forthright about their criticism while also addressing its strengths. Joost Kamermans, co-founder of Seenons, an Amsterdam-based tech company building circular waste management, says this sentiment stems from the fact that “entrepreneurs are ambitious people” looking to create an impact and looking at conditions such as availability of capital, talent, and legislation that fosters speed or growth, market potential and high-performance culture to succeed and become market leaders.

As an inherently small market, he feels the Netherlands offers less capital and there is a need to ensure “the availability of talent, high-performance culture and the legislation to foster speed are maximally utilised.” He adds, “More and more companies compete on a global level and they will simply go to places where they have the highest chance of winning.”

Julia Mitereva and Luis Galdamez Echeverria, who co-founded FashionPotluck.com, Greek.Social, and Founders Mesh together see building a proper network and finding investors who are willing to risk and fund existing startups and their products as a major challenge. However, they don’t agree with the notion that entrepreneurs are leaving the country. “An innovation ecosystem depends on the talent, ideas, and commitment of founders, which Amsterdam has plenty of,” Mitereva and Galdamez Echeverria explain.

Embrace the people

Tech exodus is not new and as long as tech ecosystems are there, there will be the sentiment to move away from them for various reasons. Even Silicon Valley is not immune to that and in many ways, it is similar to kids leaving their homes to build a career or life of their own. However, in the case of tech ecosystems, there are mitigating steps to ensure the entrepreneurs don’t leave them.

When it comes to the Dutch talent, Gaal says they have reinvented “how the internet (Framer) or books (Immer) or crops (Source) or protein (Cradle) or video games (Vesper) are made.” He adds that the likes of Adyen, Mollie, Booking, and Polarsteps have transformed how people buy and travel. For the Dutch tech ecosystem to retain talent and enterprises built by them, he recommends the country should “embrace the people.”

He explains how the Netherlands served as a port to the worldwide economy that welcomed anyone and everyone regardless of their background. “It has brought us tremendous wealth. We’ve somehow forgotten about all of that in the last forty years. For the next forty, we should embrace the people that want to deploy their skill and experience within our borders,” he explains.

He recommends expansion of the 2015 “Startup Visa” to include talent employed by startups, sponsored by local incubators, and other organisations. Gaal also argues in favour of turning the STAK into part of employment law so that every startup employee, regardless of their position, benefits from the exponential growth of their company.

“Make it so easy to create an employee stock option plan that any business can do it for the same cost as starting a BV. After all, this is the mechanism that creates more founders as well as angel investors,” he adds and sees an immediate need to eliminate any barriers for startups to build new things.

While Gaal sees the need to strengthen knowledge migration, employee participation, and innovation, Kamermans argues that the Dutch ecosystem should strive to fix the high-performance culture. He says the first step in making the Dutch ecosystem lucrative for entrepreneurs to stay in is to ensure that employees can benefit from stocks without being heavily penalised through taxes.

“Ensuring there is an upside to working more, which will inherently boil down to making income taxes lower. This will result in the need for the government to spend less, which is also important, as the size of the government is also part of the problem when it comes to inflation and labour shortages,” he adds.

“Given the current political climate, there is a tendency to lean toward less immigration. However, a thriving scale-up ecosystem requires a steady influx of talent. Instead of reducing the number of foreign students or English classes, we should increase them. Rather than reducing the expat tax ruling, we should revert it to the way it was – 8 years with a flat 30 per cent tax rate,” says Remco Janssen, founder and publisher of Silicon Canals.

Van den Ende does not mince words and addresses the elephant in the room: government policy. She says the Dutch entrepreneurs need an environment that is and remains attractive to international talent. In other words, a government that is not hostile to migration and has reasonable incentives to attract talent.

She explains, “I think it is particularly important to invest in homegrown talent. For this we need to aggressively invest in world class education in the Netherlands. Imposing higher tax rates on (school) books, sports and culture will not achieve this objective.

While regulations, taxes, and European mandates such as SFDR exist, Van den Ende says the Dutch business climate is supported by the red tape seen in other regions. However, she argues the current political environment strives for a “zesje” (a Dutch term for six) rather than celebrating excellence.

“I would also hope for an overall political climate that embraces innovation and sustainable progress as a result of which we stay at the forefront of global innovation not lagging at the back,” she adds.

More action, less reaction

Mitereva and Galdamez Echeverria argue the country needs a clearer vision and a stronger understanding from municipal bodies like StartupAmsterdam and believe these organisations should not treat supporting the ecosystem financially as a charitable act.

“There seems to be a lack of seriousness when government employees and investors interact with founders,” they explain, adding, “This suggests a misunderstanding of the significant financial and professional commitment that founders in the Amsterdam area make.”

Van den Ende sees Techleap.nl doing a great job of delivering hands-on practical support to startups. However, she sees the need for the Ministry of Economics to play a big role in ensuring the Netherlands has a vision for the future. She wants the ministry to focus on sectors the country wants to win and develop the right policy environment and support ecosystem for entrepreneurs to be successful here.

For Kamermans, the government has a big role to play in ensuring entrepreneurs do not leave the country. He says the government should create a policy framework where the talent can thrive and grow and the basics of entrepreneurship do not take a backseat. He says such a policy will allow the Dutch investor and entrepreneurial community to not only “make the most out of it but also give it their all.”

While the online discourse might hint at Dutch entrepreneurs looking to leave the country, the truth is far from it. The Dutch ecosystem continues to stay strong and some entrepreneurs are more focussed to stay and succeed here than elsewhere. However, the country needs to fix its policy towards migration and support employee growth and innovation in Dutch tech firms.

As artificial intelligence (AI) gets weaved into every aspect of our lives and AI companies reach a stratospheric value, there is a critical AI problem that many are failing to discuss. According to Tim Kleinloog, co-founder and CTO of Deeploy, is that “it was and still is extremely hard to get AI into production successfully.”

While there seems to be a new AI model launching left, right and centre, there is a problem with those models that is less discussed. Kleinloog points out that there is a general problem with trust in production AI systems. In 2020, Kleinloog joined hands with Maarten Stolk, Bastiaan van de Rakt and Nick Jetten to co-found Deeploy as a startup that offers a technical solution to the roadblocks of trust in AI.

Next to Kleinloog, the leadership team includes Maarten Stolk (CEO), Sofia Karali (Head of Marketing), Markus Heid (Head of Operations), Robert Jan van Vugt (Head of Commerce), and Robbert van der Gugten (Head of Engineering). This dynamic Deeploy team is on a mission to give explainable AI (XAI) a central place in ML operations and here’s how they aim to make AI systems truly accountable.

Importance of XAI

Kleinloog highlights that explainable AI (XAI) is essential in human-in-the-loop (HITL) systems to provide decision-makers with the necessary context to make their AI-supported decision or correct the model. Unfortunately currently most AI systems are being designed without humans in the loop in mind, often blocking the final steps to production.

Take the example of an AI-supported doctor who needs to diagnose a patient based on an X-ray photo. Without XAI, the doctor can either decide to follow the AI’s advice or ignore it. With XAI, Kleinloog explains that doctors can compare their own expert knowledge with the explanation of the AI model. This process can improve decision-making and allow for detailed feedback from the doctor on the model’s decision.

In addition, XAI also increases the understanding and trust of a model developer, of the model behaviour, and intent. If you are wondering why there isn’t enough public discussion of XAI then it’s primarily that most companies recognise the importance of XAI but sometimes need a bit of convincing and even educating on the vitality of XAI.

“For us it is so obvious that you should not wait to make AI systems responsible,” says Kleinloog. He adds, “Especially when regulation requires transparency you see companies look at solutions based on XAI.”

Making XAI central in MLOps

How does Deeploy make XAI central in MLOps? Kleinloog explains that XAI should be present as part of model deployment and treated with the same importance as model development. He argues that only such an approach will create the possibility to interrogate the model on user request.

With the hype around GenAI reaching a fever pitch, Deeploy sees XAI truly becoming a central place in ML operations. “People are starting to recognise the risks of AI and realise that control and transparency are essential for its responsible use,” explains Kleinloog.

Deeploy is already serving millions of explanations per day for its customers. The explanations play the vital role of offering additional content needed to make AI-supported decisions in human-in-the-loop systems or correcting the model.

Ambitious Cloud play

Deeploy is more and more recognised as the enabler for high-impact AI use cases.. Kleinloog says the biggest cloud challenge regularly faced by Deeploy is integrating with the ever-changing AI ecosystem where all the major cloud providers are playing their part. He says scaling the cost efficiently is another major challenge with use of cloud-based solutions.

To overcome these challenges, Deeploy has found a trusted partner in DoiT, a Silicon Valley upstart providing cloud-driven organisations with intelligent technology and multi-cloud expertise to save both time and money. “DoiT has been a reliable knowledge partner in proposing a cost-efficient design solution,” says Kleinloog.

One of the ways Deeploy saves on time and money is by using DoiT as their main entry point for AWS support. The startup benefits from DoiT’s expertise and cost saving solutions Deeploy likes the “everybody wins” business model of DoiT, which helps the Dutch startup get better prices and support without spending additional money and “potentially saves money.”

As AI becomes the cornerstone of everything technology, Deeploy aims to offer the latest cloud technologies in a cost-efficient manner, with DoiT’s expertise providing a competitive edge.

Evolution of XAI

Deeploy envisions XAI having a breakthrough in the coming years. Kleinloog believes understanding the model internals is not only needed to keep control of current state-of-the-art models but also allows us to create the next generation of GenAI models. With regulations such as the EU AI Act coming into force, Kleinloog expects to see transparency efforts from companies like OpenAI to stay active in the European market.

Deeploy’s goal is to contribute to the alignment between humans and AI. “We believe that XAI already has a role in improving responsible use and trust in AI systems and that will only increase in the future,” Kleinloog adds.

Deeploy wants to make state-of-the-art XAI methods available for use in practice and it doesn’t want to do that alone. Backed by €3.5M in funding and DoiT’s multi-cloud expertise, the Utrecht-based startup is uniquely positioned to propel XAI to common parlance in the AI world.

DoiT helps digital native companies implement cost controls and optimisations in the cloud to drive business growth. Sign up for a free trial of the product to learn how DoiT’s intelligent software and unrivalled cloud expertise can save you time and money.

Rierino, the next-generation startup behind low-code technology solutions for e-commerce and digital transformation, has announced a partnership with FeatureMind. The seasoned digital transformation house will augment its solution portfolio with Rierino’s technologies for rapid high-impact transformations. Both companies will together support ambitious retailers and enterprises in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to enhance their digital commerce operations.

Since it was founded in 2020, Rierino has emerged as a rising challenger in the composable e-commerce space improving flexibility and cost-effectiveness of enterprise-grade software development with its low-code/no-code platform. From the launch of Rierino Core platform to expanding their team in Europe, the startup has been taking a methodical approach to building its platform and supporting digital transformation in EMEA.

The partnership with FeatureMind is another step in the ambitious journey of Rierino to equip digital businesses and service partners with unparalleled agility to achieve their demanding targets.

Complementary strengths

The partnership between Rierino and FeatureMind stems from the convergence of client needs and the complementary strengths of both companies. “We started hearing about Rierino from our clients who were impressed with the platform’s adaptability and rapid innovation features,” says Gokhan Girgin, co-founder and CTO at FeatureMind.

Girgin adds, “This feedback spurred us to explore a collaboration with Rierino, whose values and technological capabilities align perfectly with our mission to deliver exceptional digital experiences.”

With its extensive experience in e-commerce and digital transformation, FeatureMind has consistently been able to create innovative digital solutions for prestigious clients such as Mamas&Papas, Bloomingdale’s, Swarovski, and Lacoste. Rierino sees this deep understanding of retail dynamics and innovative mindset as perfectly aligning with its own commitment to excellence.

With the partnership, FeatureMind will be able to bring Rierino Core platform and high-impact modules to its clients helping them reduce development time down to a few hours while improving efficiencies. They will also be able to take advantage of real-time generative AI (GenAI) and ML capabilities to be integrated into any customer interaction or workflow enabling smart automation and higher productivity.

“Our platform’s intuitive design and advanced capabilities, such as real-time generative AI and machine learning integration, enable FeatureMind to deliver personalised, efficient, and scalable e-commerce experiences,” says Berkin Ozmen, co-founder and CTO of Rierino.

Rierino’s Product Information Management (PIM) module will allow retailers to manage their product catalogues more efficiently while its Content Management System (CMS) will help retailers create and update content rapidly across channels. “This means FeatureMind’s clients will benefit from fast deployments, smart automation, and a more agile response to market demands,” adds Ozmen.

Driving Europe’s digital transformation

Speed and flexibility are two of the biggest challenges faced by retailers and with the partnership, Rierino says retailers will see a dramatic improvement in these two metrics. Ozmen tells me the flexible nature of Rierino’s platform will allow retailers to easily adapt to new business requirements without any downtime.

The combination of reduced development time, faster deployment, and agility will allow retailers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to stay competitive. The retailers will also benefit from a user-friendly, intuitive, and inclusive interface provided by Rierino’s LCNC platform, which supports easier onboarding and engagement across a broader user base.

While FeatureMind retailers gain exposure to a revolutionary platform, Rierino stands to further its goal of becoming the backbone of the digital transformation journey of European businesses. Ozmen sees the partnership as helping them play a pivotal role in supporting the digital transformation of European businesses by providing them with an adaptable platform that aligns with specific business strategies and technological requirements.

“The partnership with FeatureMind means that European enterprises can leverage Rierino‘s advanced features to create tailored e-commerce solutions that meet their unique needs,” Ozmen elaborates. With support for a wide range of business models, including B2C, B2B, and marketplaces, Rierino has built a versatile platform. “With FeatureMind’s expertise, Rierino is in a position to offer a comprehensive solution that drives innovation and efficiency,” quips Ozmen.

“By integrating Rierino’s technology, we can help our clients achieve seamless digital transformations that are fully compliant with local regulations and optimised for the European market,” adds Girgin.

Remarkable opportunity

Europe’s digital transformation market is poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.5 per cent from 2023 to 2030. The market is expected to reach $832B by 2030, offering enormous opportunities for businesses like Rierino to not only expand but also grow their product offering.

However, the Turkish startup has always championed the idea of not scaling this European digital transformation market alone. Mine Bayrak Ozmen, who co-founded the startup with Berkin Ozmen and Utku Sarioz, told me in March their growth strategy in Europe centres around growing with a network of trusted partners actively promoting and implementing Rierino’s solutions.

The partnership being announced today will help Rierino to pair its high-impact products like PIM and CMS modules with FeatureMind’s established presence and reputation across EMEA.

“FeatureMind’s long standing relationships with leading brands provide us with invaluable access to a wide range of opportunities. This collaboration allows us to showcase our innovative solutions to a broader audience and strengthen our position in the European e-commerce technology space,” says Ozmen.

“Together, we are poised to set new benchmarks in the industry and deliver unparalleled value to our clients. This partnership not only accelerates our mutual growth but also reinforces our commitment to leading the digital transformation journey in Europe,” he adds.