When Tesla needed a home base in Europe for its production and distribution, it didn’t head to Germany or France. They picked the Netherlands. The epicenter of Google’s operation on the European continent isn’t London or Paris but Amsterdam. All of Netflix’s streaming business in Europe flows through a Dutch subsidiary. This pattern isn’t coincidental.
Leading multinational companies regularly select the Netherlands as their gateway to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa due to the unique package of strategic benefits that few other European locations can offer.
Location advantages that actually matter
Geography influences business more than most entrepreneurs appreciate. The Netherlands is also at the intersection of Europe’s major trade routes and plays host to more cargo than any other port on this continent, in Rotterdam.
It’s also near one of Europe’s busiest crossroads, Schiphol Airport, just a hop on one of the direct flights from that conduit to nearly every business center worth mentioning.
All of this infrastructure allows your products to get in front of customers in Berlin, Paris, or Milan within hours, rather than days. For businesses embracing EMEA markets for the first time, this benefit of efficiency means cost-effective lower shipping fees, quicker delivery times.
The language barrier that doesn’t exist
Just try doing business in Italy without Italian, or negotiating contracts in France without being able to speak French. Consider the Netherlands, where up to 90% of the population speaks English fluently.
Professionals in the Netherlands also frequently do international business exclusively in English, from banking to law to government forms. Removal of this linguistic barrier is one of the most painful aspects to address for Europeanisation. Your team can concentrate on growing the business, not finding and hiring translators or suffering through awkward meetings with a language barrier.
Tax efficiency done right
The Netherlands has designed its tax system to appeal to holding companies and international businesses. The participation exemption renders dividends and capital gains received from qualifying subsidiaries exempt from tax at the parent company level.
The country has over 100 tax treaties, thus withholding taxes on cross-border payments are often low. For those businesses considering a Dutch business set up, they may also enjoy an easy and quick incorporation, which can be done in just a couple of working days.
Compared to the German GmbH or French SAS, the share capital requirement is very low for a Dutch BV structure and equally suits start-ups as it does established operating companies.
Digital infrastructure built for modern business
The Netherlands ranks fourth on the World Economic Forum’s Network Readiness Index. Internet penetration exceeds 96%, and the country is an international data center hub, home to Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. The digital infrastructure supports everything from e-commerce platforms to fintech services.
Government services are nearly all online, with simple procedures for licenses, registrations, and compliance. Company formation experts such as Intercompany Solutions offer the full package of services, starting from the establishment of a business to opening a corporate bank account, so businesses can concentrate on implementing their market entry strategy.
Political stability you can count on
Entering the emerging markets is to accept political risk. To break into Western Europe via the Netherlands is to work in one of the most stable democracies on Earth. Even if there were more than coalitions between certain power-holding parties, the Dutch government is consistent in its approach to business regardless.
Property rights are secure, contracts are solid, and the legal system is among Europe’s most efficient by World Bank governance indicators. For firms deploying large amounts of capital into EMEA operations, this predictability has a colossal impact.
The Netherlands is not just another European country you can incorporate a company. It’s an intentionally cultivated business ecosystem that eliminates many of the barriers international firms traditionally encounter when trying to crack European markets. Large corporations realized this decades ago. Wise entrepreneurs are coming to the same conclusion today.
