With a population of less than 17.5 million people, the Netherlands is overweight when it comes to Fintech – it’s the eighth largest hub in the world, according to a new Global Fintech Talent Report for 2022.
Not surprisingly. The Netherlands is centrally located within Europe, it has a high use of English speakers (over 90% of the Dutch population speaks the language) and it has a good quality of life, good infrastructure and an educated workforce. . Plus, the country has a long and historic history of change: you may not know that, among other stellar inventions, the submarine, wifi and man -made islands were all pioneered in the Netherlands or by the Dutch. innovator and scientist. The Netherlands is now ranked in the top five global leaders in innovation, according to the Global Innovation Index 2020 (GII 2020).
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In addition, the Netherlands has recorded more than $ 1bn in venture capital transactions for local Fintech companies, and there are 114 active Fintech here. The sector is healthy, evolving and really reflects global trends.
Worldwide, Statista reported that total investments in Fintech rose from approximately $ 9bn in 2010 to a high of $ 215.4bn in 2019. That year, 75% of global consumers had already adopted some type of money transfer or payment service. Cryptocurrency has also seen a massive take-up rate, according to blockchain data platform Chainalysis, which says crypto rose 2300% from Q3 2019 to Q2 2021.
Career transitions
For those already working in the sector, or looking to get a role in the fast -growing Fintech industry, this is a great time to ride. The Global Fintech Talent Report indicates that most of the industry and hiring activity will remain focused in Amsterdam, where the largest sectors here are payments, at 33%, consumer banking at 30%and blockchain at 14%.
The country has seen a year-on-year increase in the number of jobs in the Fintech sector of 117% and one in five of those jobs are for software engineers. In wages, Big Data Architects can expect to earn € 65-85k per year (similar to the figure in 2021) and a CTO can earn between € 125-240k.
The competition for talent is fierce – an employee’s average tenure is only two years so talent gets rid of quickly. Professionals with strong skill-sets in Java, data, DevOps and cyber security are particularly sought after. EU citizens are free to work in the Netherlands as long as they want and international graduates are given one year to find a job or start a business after graduation. Additionally, the government operates an entrepreneur visa scheme that offers international entrepreneurs a one-year visa to start their companies.
While it’s easy to say that everything seems vague in the Netherlands ’Fintech sector, there is a strong gender gap within the industry. Only 24% of roles are held by women, a trend almost identical to the global Fintech ecosystem. The most diverse location for female talent is San Francisco, which boasts a 28% female demographic.
Elsewhere in the tech sector
Fintech is not the only strong performer in the Netherlands. The tech sector as a whole is emerging in the Amsterdam-Startup Delta, a geographical triangle that spans Amsterdam, The Hague and Eindhoven.
Many international tech giants have set up shop in Amsterdam, including Tesla, Meta, IBM, Google, Oracle, AWS and Ebay. Techsharks, Flink, ServiceNow and Booking.com also have openings in the city today.
Professional roles demanded include Product Management (IT), Implementation Management, Software Engineering, Analysis and Business Support and the fastest growing technical skills are in insurance, customer experience and data mining.
Are you ready to explore a new role in Fintech or the broader tech sector? Then there are thousands to explore in the Netherlands and across europe on the Silicon Canals Job Board
Stay tuned for our interview with Paul Down, Head of Sales at Intigriti.