The Top 250 report showcases the resilience of entrepreneurs in shaping the future of the business landscape in the Netherlands. It describes the evolving character of high-growth entrepreneurship in the Netherlands, and shows significant shifts in their profiles and geography.
The report’s key findings show:
- these companies are a job-creation engine: Since 2021, they have created over 179,000 jobs, showing their important economic and societal contribution
- the average age of high-growth firms has more than doubled to 33.4 years, making 2025’s cohort the oldest and most mature on record
- A third of firms qualify as hypergrowers with at least 40 per cent annual growth in the number of full-time employees. This is an increase over last year when around a fifth of firms were hypergrowers – this is driven largely by older, established firms rather than young scaleups.
- High growth areas have shifted from Amsterdam and North Holland to Overijssel, Gelderland, and Utrecht, signalling that there’s decentralisation of growth beyond the Randstad.
- More than half of these firms now actively engage in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). For the first time, the integration of AI into core operations has been measured with 32 firms adopting it, but there’s not much adoption of frameworks like the UN’s SDGs or B Corp certification.
- There’s at least one woman founder or top executive in 28 per cent of firms. The research also found that 41.6 per cent of firms have at least one woman in their leadership team if directors and board members are included – up from 30 per cent in 2024.
A shifting stereotype
These findings from the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship reveal a profound shift in the traditional narrative. The research shows that mature firms and existing businesses are now driving the intensity of growth and reshaping the high-growth ecosystem. This challenges the conventional image of youthful and agile start-ups as the dominant drivers of growth, and highlights the resilience, adaptability, and innovation of older companies in the Dutch economy.
Prof. Justin Jansen, co-founder and Senior Fellow of the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship notes, “Sustainable rapid growth in the Netherlands increasingly comes from more mature, well-organised firms. This is not about the youngest rockets sprinting ahead for a season; it is about companies that have built, tested, and refined how they work, so they can keep up with demand. If you want to appear in the Top 250, and keep appearing, the work is not to chase growth spikes but to build an operating system that can absorb rapid growth without losing its beat.”
Time for a fresh look at sustainable growth
The Top 250 celebrates the most remarkable growth stories of Dutch enterprises and their leaders. At the same time, it serves as a call to action for the entire ecosystem. “Every year, the Top 250 reminds us of the extraordinary impact entrepreneurs have on the Dutch economy and society,” said Leonardo Fuligni, Deputy Director at the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship. “In 2025, we see a new reality emerging: high growth is no longer the sole domain of young disruptors. Established firms are proving just as dynamic and transformative. This calls for a fresh understanding of what fuels sustainable growth.”
About Top 250
Top 250 is an annual research conducted by Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship on the fastest-growing companies in the Netherlands. The companies are selected based on weighting of absolute (in number) and relative growth (in percentage) of full-time employees between 2021 and 2024, using the OECD’s definition of a High-Growth Firm and the typology of growth, developed by the European Scaleup Institute. The presentation of the Top 250 Awards will follow on 4 November 2025. Awards include: Golden Scaler, Impact Scaler, Young Scaler and Woman-led Scaler. Download the Top 250 Insights Report
About Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship
Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship (ECE) from Erasmus University Rotterdam is a leading international centre for entrepreneurship education and research. Guided by their core values - Entrepreneurial, Collaborative and Excellence – the centre drives innovation through high-quality research and education, locally and globally. Through collaborating with entrepreneurs, academia, education, government, and industry partners, ECE actively shapes the future of entrepreneurship and drives positive, sustainable societal and economic change. Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship’s Marketing and Communications team at communication@ece.nl.
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is one of Europe’s top-ranked business schools. RSM provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam – a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who can become a force for positive change by carrying their innovative mindset into a sustainable future. Our first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes encourage them to become critical, creative, caring and collaborative thinkers and doers. www.rsm.nl
For more information about RSM or this release, please contact Danielle Baan, science communications and PR for RSM, on +31 10 408 2828 or by email at baan@rsm.nl.
