Anna Klapwijk

Super proud we managed to set up this partnership and launched so many impactful initiatives. Looking forward to follow the impact of comi by years!

I am still so proud of the work we've done with the Foodbank in the Netherlands. And yet, there is still so much work to do, both on the poverty side as one the food waste side. I always explain my son when he's inclined to play with food about the supply chain (in less technical terms) and how much energy has gone in making food. It is great to see how these efforts try to close some gaps, so close to home! Do reach out if you want to contribute or know more! …meer

Heel nice, en zo nodig. Als Amsterdam centrum bewoner fiets ik dagelijks over de wallen waar ik met veel bewondering naar de schoonmakers kijk die tegen de enorme bende ontploft afval proberen op te werken. Super mooi initiatief, al vraagt dit ook zeker iets van de politiek. Mooi stap om gezamenlijk na te denken over een oplossing. Love it. Doe mee! …meer

I’m happy to share that I’ve obtained a new certification: Foundations of Venture Capital (Online) from Columbia University!

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Startup Mentor at YES!Delft! It's awesome to be back in Delft and so cool to see these young start-ups with great ideas wanting to change the world. While most have developed brilliant technologies, it can be hard to find the right product-market fit. I can't wait to support the coming cohort in their creative process! …meer

Vandaag liepen we met zo’n 250.000 mensen mee in de hashtag #RodeLijn-demonstratie om de Nederlandse regering op te roepen duidelijk grenzen te trekken en daadkrachtiger op te treden in de Gaza-crisis. Ik voel een plaatsvervangende schaamte kijkend naar het huidige, zij het demissionaire, kabinet en het alomtegenwoordige gebrek aan lef om op te komen voor mensen en humaniteit te tonen bij wat door velen gezien wordt als genocide. Vandaag kreeg ik een mooi flyertje met ‘your silence will be studied by your grandchildren’ wat aandrijft meer actie te nemen en ik hoop dat ondanks dat het demissionair is het ‘kabinet’ zich hier toch iets van aantrekt en meer internationale druk uitoefent. Bijzonder, indrukwekkend en ook emotioneel om zoveel mensen samen te zien. Ik voel me gesterkt door een gevoel van verbondenheid, samenhorigheid en daadkracht. 🫶 …meer

🎉 We failed! We hardly got anything off the ground, and yet 4 months of brainstorms, work sessions, countless coffees and multiple iterations still feels like a bit of a loss. It’s not (we learned so so much these last few months) and I shouldn’t, but I also think it’s ok to mourn and let that feeling be there. On day 2 of returning from my sabbatical I was joined by a good friend, both on a mission to create more equality in funding and support founders in overlooked markets. We spend so many discussions on the proposition and the problem, we involved someone else, we iterated, we pivoted. Then it crashed. Last Friday we had another session and it just became clear it wasn’t going to work. The concept, the vision, the team, the difference in commitment. I spend the weekend mourning, an actual feeling of grief, because we do part ways and so much energy was spent. And then I got up again. It’s part of it. I tell people to celebrate failure, thus, so am I. I’ll be drinking bubbels. On the learnings. On the adventure. On the next… thing, iteration, tbd. Right on track to something else - whatever that will be. All good. …meer

Why is it so hard for people to ask for what they want? Tuesday I was part of the Networking Sprint, with many other entrepreneurial women, where we each asked what we needed from others at this point. A connection, a co-founder, a request to talk in a podcast, whatever. Interestingly many hadn’t even thought about it, at least not to actively ask. And of course when you ask, people are more than happy to help. It got my thinking about someone I heard on BNR last week who works for Bureau Vijftig where he discussed how difficult we find it to ASK for help, even though no one minds being asked for help. And at the same time do we not proactively offer help from a fear not wanting to insult people who might feel offended in their independence. It all comes down to us assuming for others. We assume we burden people, we assume how people feel, we assume we know the answer. And on the other hand we assume that people know what we want, what we are working on or what we need. It’s the classic story of asking for a promotion, which you might not get if you tell people you want it. Simultaneously there is the culture dynamics where we’ve been taught that if you work hard, you’ll make it and somehow that gives the idea that you should build things yourself, without help from others - despite the collective realisation that the problems we work on are so complex we can’t solve them alone and most people know they need help. Again we assume we ought to know the answers ourselves, or that people might think something negative if we don’t solve it ourselves. But of course what happens when you do ask for help… aside from the fact you might actually get what you want, is that is sharpens your thinking on what it is you’re trying to achieve, what it is that contributes to your goal, that you further detail your vision and plan. I once learned a great acronym (in Dutch): ANNA - Altijd Navragen, Nooit Aannemen (Always Ask, Never Assume). So next time, just... ask ANNA. …meer

Friday I had the fortune to attend the showing of Show Her the Money (again) with Katty Hsu. This time in Paris, the day filled with investors, founders and ecosystem members discussing how to break the bias in funding, what system changes are needed and how female founders can find the right investor. It’s simply shocking only 2.3% of VC funding goes to female founders, while all-male teams received 86.3% last year. With only some small successes in climate tech, digital health and Edtech women are still widely underrepresented (and minorities - though data is more scarce). Some additional data and info can be found here: Fortunately Friday showed again the power and drive of many entrepreneurs and investors, wanting to change the industry. Some take-aways: 🤝If you’re startup is your baby, your captable is the family you invite. Make sure to choose ‘your’ people, investors who understand what you’re doing and what your values are. 🎯 No investor is the same; be careful not to waste time on pitching to investors who don’t have your solution as part of their focus - seems obvious, still goes wrong 💡As a founder you’re bringing an opportunity, you’re not begging for money! When you get questions focused on risk, or family, be sure to change it to getting across your ambition, growth plans 💶 to investors, diversity isn’t a checkbox. It’s a strategy for better returns. If everyone around the table looks the same, your dealflow probably does too. If you want, you can actively hunt and look for them! 📞Networks are so important and something men traditionally have more (the old boys network). You need your affinity groups, but the magic happens at intersection of interacting with different groups (also in founding teams). Thanks for all the inspiration and reflectionand the honest experience and sharing of your story. Very inspiring! 🫶 …meer

I'm very proud to share that as of 1st of October I am part of the Supervisory Board of Diversity Talks! Since 2019, Diversity Talks has been strengthening equality in education and fostering societal engagement among youth through projects like the StudieHub that provides free homework support, media outings, educating and inspiring people around D&I themes and events that provide a space and place to bring youth from diverse background together, share learning, inspire and expand their networks. Much like in funding, career opportunities, living spaces and many other areas do you see the same dynamics of inequality in education. It matters where your cradle stood and historical feedback loops reinforce the status quo. Diversity Talks - and its fantastic board - are working on fixing this to enable a more equal playing field. And I’m super proud I get to contribute to their mission! If you care about youth, equity, or inclusion—or have ideas for how we can push further—let’s connect. I’d love to hear your thoughts or explore how we might collaborate. PS. There is a still a fantastic and impactful role open for a new chair(wo)men of the board. manish jinkhoe-rai …meer

✨ Reflecting on an inspiring evening at the TU Delft Women Alumni event ✨ Last week, I joined 200+ amazing technical alumni at the TU Delft Women Alumni gathering — a night full of connection, reflection, and empowerment. One of the absolute highlights was the keynote by, an inspiring entrepreneur and investor, who shared her candid reflections on being “misunderstood” in her entrepreneurial journey. Her talk was honest, insightful, and resonating for many. Some key takeaways that stayed with me: 👫 Masculine and feminine traits are complementary. Boldness, vision, and ambition can inspire others to join your mission — but traits like listening, reflection, and collaboration are equally vital for success. These are not gendered qualities, but rather complementary strengths that both men and women can (and should) cultivate. 💬 Femininity is often misunderstood or undervalued. Behaviours like seeking advice, taking time to deliberate, or striving for consensus are sometimes seen as “hesitant” — yet they’re often what lead to thoughtful, very deliberate decisions. Eline shared how she would gather advice, think things through, chart her path — but then later gets called stubborn. 💡 Failure as a source of insight. When something doesn’t go as planned, don’t rush to patch it up. Instead, look deeper into why it happened. Every failure carries valuable information. 📋 Rigor from day one. A practical but powerful reminder: have your documentation and structure in order early on. Many deals and partnerships fall apart because “under the hood” things are messy. What a great community to be part of! Applaud for,ento pull this together — and to see how conversations like these continue to shape the future of tech and entrepreneurship 💪💡 …meer

Dit. De afgelopen heb ik veel discussie gehad over strategisch stemmen en zoals Laurens zegt, en ook de vorige verkiezingen hebben laten zien raken mensen toch vooral teleurgesteld. Ik stem dus strategisch - op wat ik echt belangrijk vind. Bij de verkiezingen kiezen wij mensen die onze belangen vertegenwoordigen met de bedoeling een afspiegeling te zijn van de samenleving. Het is dus ook belangrijk te stemmen op wat jij zou willen zien veranderen. Er zijn drie dingen die ik belangrijk vind: innovatie en technologie, gelijke kansen en klimaat. De veranderingen gaan ZO snel, van de inzet van AI, defensie, het belang van cybersecurity, een transparante en solide infrastructuur maar ook de economische kracht en potentie van innovatie voor ons land. De keuzes die gemaakt worden, en niet gemaakt worden (met name rondom klimaat) hebben enorme impact op ons leven en ons werk. Ik wil in een land leven dat vooruit gaat en fundamenteel nadenkt over hoe het anders kan - voor iedereen. Voor mij is het duidelijk dat Volt een nieuw geluid geeft en zij kunnen meer impact maken als mensen werkelijk stemmen wat ze belangrijk vinden (ipv strategisch omdat Volt te klein zou zijn) en stem ik op, maar als je deze thema's ook belangrijk vindt en kun je die ook terug vinden bij andere partijen - mocht je niet meer zwevende zijn. Bij PvdA-GL is b.v.een goede keuze mbt ongelijkheid ofals het over digitale zaken gaat. Bij D66. Als je innovatie en het digitale domein belangrijk vindt kijk vooral ook nog even bij. Specifiek voor vrouwen rechten kun je nog naar de stemwijzer van women inc. kijkenof de Klimaat Kieswijzer. Succes vandaag! …meer

OMG. I can not believe I’m back!!! After being selected delegate in 2022 I am a proud and recurring ambassador at One Young World - Munich 2025!!! Being surrounded by young leaders from every corner of the globe — activists, entrepreneurs, innovators, nobel peace prize loreates — is incredibly humbling and inspiring. The stories from delegate show that even the smallest initiative can ignite a global ripple effect. What brings me back every year is that hope (even though I just heard fromhope is a shit strategy. We need action. Love it!) feels contagious in a space like this. You listen to someone tackling climate injustice in Kenya, or empowering girls through education in Afghanistan, and suddenly, your own challenges seem smaller — but your drive becomes bigger. Can’t wait for the coming days, after another epic kick-off; 🤟 Queen Rania from Jordan calling out the attroceties in Gaza, reflecting on how genocide start with words and labeling people as savages justifies savage behavior. Even though we might feel powerless, we can all contribute with our skills in a way. The only limitation to our ambition is our imagination. ❤️‍🩹 I’m not sure how to describe the dejected and downheartedness of Bob Geldoff on the state of the world, reflecting on current leaders like Musk, Trump and Putin like fools and mad f*cks - is how the world is, and it needs change. 🏳️ Seeing the iconic flag ceremony, including the refugee flag and of course a high rise for the Palestian and Ukraine flags the founder of OYWreminds us that our governments action don’t define us. We are all here to solve the same issues - together. One Young World isn’t just a summit. It’s a movement of activists and doers, reminding us that the future isn’t waiting for us to arrive; it’s being built by us, right now. Great to back with fellow ambassadors …meer

I love this. I’ve been part of feminist communities for years and one thing that I’ve often found difficult is that in certain groups men are excluded in thought and conversation. And don’t get me wrong, it’s important to have affinity groups and people who understand the specific barriers you run into but it is important to recognize that we live in complex systems that are created by all genders (and yes, systems from legacy designed by and for men - which we need to correct for). During the summitspoke openly about the authoritarian household he grew up in, how he never learned to talk about his feeling, to allow himself to really love and what that did to him. He shared about his porn addiction, the secret behaviors, being molested and finally losing his wife (who later returned) - despite being so successful in measurable accounts. He outlined how generational toxic masculinity takes shape and how emotions - if we’re not taught how to express them - often are displayed as anger. And because of the prevailing culture, where ‘men need to be tough’ he lost himself. He ends by stressing we need to love more, and break these biases. For me being a ‘feminist’ is about equal opportunities for women, but also to support men where this leads to more equality. Not that they need that in business as much, but when it comes to mental health, talking about your feelings, breeding responsible, considerate and ‘feminist’ men, they also need care, attention and equality. Similar to how paternity leave enables women, men play a critical role in transforming outdated systems, in which they too need care and help to change their belief systems. I think it is great prominent people like Terry take the stage to share their story and break taboos and systemic barriers. I realize it’s a very complex issue, so I’m interested to hear thoughts about how we create more equality and the role men play! …meer

Such an insightful day again today at the AMS Institute. Learning from great entrepreneurs and their journey. Some of the main insights of the day; 💡Ecosystem spikes in certain places and acts like natural ecosystems, there’s not one size fit. What works in one place doesn’t work in the other. However, the number one success factor is customers. Customers, customers, customers. Once you have that other resources are easier to find in support of that. 🙈In the Netherlands, the government can make steps and becoming more of a partner, especially to scale ups. Examples of regulation simply stops startups from implementing solution is really from yesterday. It doesn’t help us becoming a frontrunner in innovation 💸Lots of insights on the financial ecosystem in an Netherlands, like the invisibility of funders, a lack of signaling power to other VCs and the lack of understanding on how VCs work and what makes startups fundable by VC or not. Great day. Thanks for the inspiration and insight. Next learn&share at Rabobank 19th of Jan. …meer

I wish society would look more like this… Surrounded by a real reflection of the worlds population, a truly diverse and inclusive group of people, from more than 190 countries and all walks of life A place where everyone is curious about the people they meet, the solutions they work on and the perspectives they bring. Where people from nations in conflict find each other to talk about collaboration, and where there is respect for everyone who is there. A place where everyone is working to solve something important. Climate, justice, equality, human rights, corruption, hate, disinformation, poverty. Where everyone takes action on something they believe in. People without funds who manage to build organizations from scratch. This is whatwas like. A world where you are constantly filled with inspiration, connection, and a feeling of fundamental responsibility as world citizen, activist and leader. In a world where you overflow from inspiration and connection it seems impossible not to act on the issues you find important. Have your pick, there is enough to solve… Just act. I was incredibly fortunate to attend the summit in Belfast. One of the action on my ribbon that is part of the big ball created during the closing ceremony was to get involved in politics, so to return to One Young World withto host a workshop on how to collaborate better within politics withandwas really full circle! I return again with so much motivation and many powerful messages. So here’s just the tip of the iceberg. 💪encouraging us to work through the anxiety. Like the bedtime t heroes - they never give up. It’s ok to be mad, disappointed, but then keep at it! 📰talking about fighting an ecosystem designed for profit and power. Without facts there is no truth. No truth no trust. Information integrity is the mother of all battles. If we lose we loose everything. 💡Sam Browne showed how his poems got ridiculed by Andrew Tate and then changed the minds of his followers. So powerful. 👨‍🎤Bob Geldoff reengorcing the need to act. Act. Act. Act. We need minority voices at the table. We need political actions. We need practical action. 👑 Nathalie Emmanuel (yes the one from Game Of Thrones) talk about the need for empathy and using storytelling to awaken and change people’s mind If there is one thing that stood out for me this year it is this… You always do what you always done you will get what you always got. GO. MAKE. CHANGE. 🫶 A lot of faith in these guys doing just that! …meer

I’m happy to share that I’ve obtained a new certification: Raising VC stars from EIT Community Supernovas!

I can only iterate the learnings from Tessa on the real and rocky road of entrepreneurship and the value of sharing these learnings together!

Je kent het wel. Je zit net lekker in je flow… belt je manager: “Kun jij voor het einde van het jaar nog even een team/klant/leadership event regelen? Max 30 personen?” Stress? Hoeft niet. We got your back. Bij Canal Clubhouse hebben we nog een paar mooie decemberdata vrij. Strategiesessie? Performance review offsite? Private lunch of diner? Teambuilding? Kom maar door. Onze boom staat al klaar, jij hoeft alleen nog de cadeautjes eronder te leggen. En als je écht wil uitpakken: Voeg een boottocht over de Amsterdamse grachten toe aan jullie bijeenkomst. Als dat geen top eindejaarsevent wordt, dan weten we het ook niet meer. Stuur ons een DM of bel ons op 020-2261292 om de mogelijkheden te bespreken. …meer

It was so great to attend the first event as a community member of AtVenture! After a few months of working on something similar without success I decided to join the community Tessa de Flines and Laurie Lanceeset up. 💡Why is this important? There is still a lot of inequality in finance and in funding. Last year in Europe only 12% of VC funding was raised by women. And while women tend to look for other funding methods the fact that the industry is so male dominated (and much of the money is in the hands of men) brings a bias into what gets funded (there is a great book called ‘The Vagina Business’ that explores the inequality in women’s health and innovations that struggle to get funded). With only 6% of women at partner level at VC funds it shows a disbalance and under presentation on many levels. And while there are no stats on the number of angels investors in the Netherlands, in the EU about 20% are women. This all just shows the disbalance. Having different perspectives in funding helps to break systemic barriers by bringing different perspectives to the table. And not only that, but through money you get to decided which business get a chance to flourish. The old image of angel investors is that of the exited entrepreneur or super rich, but through platforms like this you can already invest from a few thousand euros (there are also equity based platforms that allow investments from a few hundred euros). When more types of people become angels, capital flows to a wider range of founders, driving economic growth, job creation, and more inclusive innovation. Looking back on a great night. It was certainly made by these amazing startups: ✨Flouria Health (): Digital women’s health platform delivering fast, expert-led care from fertility to menopause ✨Goodoo | Certified B Corp (): Award-winning plant-based ice cream that tastes better and uses less sugar ✨ChemReclaim (): Next-gen nanopowders reducing metal use and strengthening Europe’s high-tech supply chain ✨Homemade B.V (): Hyperlocal food platform connecting home chefs with hungry neighbors for fresh, affordable meals If you’re interested to know more, check out …meer

Ingediend plan amsterdam.nl

There we go! De afgelopen maanden zijn Sebastian Sawicki, Eva de Meijier en Eline Meijer druk geweest met het opzetten van We Build Bridges, een programma om de kansgelijkheid van jongeren uit Noord te vergroten. We wonen in dezelfde stad, dezelfde buurt, dezelfde straat en toch zijn onze werelden mijlen ver uit elkaar. Waar je wiegje staat is bepalend voor de kansen en de toekomst die je krijgt. Deze jonge talenten hebben ook ideeën, dromen en ambities. Via het programma faciliteren we een aantal masterclasses, verbreden we hun netwerk en worden ze gekoppeld aan buddies uit hun buurt om hen een stap verder te helpen. Mocht je fondsen, organisaties of mensen weten die interessant zijn om mee samen te werken. Let us know! …meer

📣 Nairobi connections request! Next week I'll be going to Nairobi for user research (big announcement to follow soon...). I'm having sessions with (aspiring) entrepreneurs and meeting people in the startup ecosystem. I'll be there for a week (12th till 17th) and would love to meet other people that can help shine a light on the existing barriers and dynamics of the ecosystem. Do you know anyone in Nairobi, I'd love to connect! Thinking along = lief 🙏 …meer

WHAT A WEEK!!! Last week I returned from a week full of exploration and user research in Nairobi, and again. What. A. Week!!! I came back not only TOTALLY inspired - the drive, the people, the energy, but also a little wiser. Let me share. In the 5 days I was there I met more than 30 people, did an amazing user research session - a big thanks toand Lydia for setting that up - with more than 15 women (aspiring) entrepreneurs and had countless conversations with people (from Uber drivers to hotel guest) on the barriers for women, and dynamics of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. I’m fuelled with energy from all the wonderful conversations and people I met. 😁🫶 So what did I learn? Some key points; 💸 The biggest funding gap is around 2-5 years. VC is a very particular financial instrument that doesn’t suit many of the businesses. 🏦 Other instruments, like bank loans have an interest rate of 15-20%, insanely high, and often inaccessible because of the lack of collateral. Debt instruments are being introduced but not widely available. ⚒️ Because of the need for income and lack of jobs in the market people set up businesses. To diversify risk they work in multiple ventures (sometimes at a cost of focus but people work incredible hard and weigh options along the way). As a result (and in combination with the lack of access to capital) there is a lot of competition in businesses that are already competitive and sometime little value adding (e.g. selling of consumer products, but also payments apps) 🌱Many of the programs focus on ‘necessity’ based entrepreneurs (e.g. smallholder farmers), vs opportunity based entrepreneurs, where the first is poverty relief focused, requires a different approach and often is not about growth (mindset). 👩‍🎓We already knew this, but good to re-iterate, there is definitely some program fatigue - all well intentioned, to help women, but really, they just need funding… (and yes, of course, we can all learn more, and there is a need for digital literacy and other skills, but as someone said “if you want to move the need you also need funding”) 🤷‍♂️The culture is quite patriarchal, where men often have a say when it comes to spending money, even if it is the business of the women and especially if they run a household with kids. I could continue this list for a while longer, but would rather share something more structured a bit later. For now we take our insights to start running design sprints to build and test prototypes. We’ll keep you posted of the journey🤘! Finally, what I am really curious about is why - when there seems to be such an obvious gap in a place where people are so driven, are there not more players there? Open question… I’d love any insight! 💡 +++ …meer

Laatste kans: Help We Build Bridges aan startkapitaal door te stemmen op ons initiatief bij Buurtbudgetten Amsterdam-Noord. De afgelopen weken deelden,,en ik hier berichten over We Build Bridges. De reacties waren eerlijk gezegd overweldigend. Veel enthousiasme. Herkenning. Mooie aanmoedigingen. “Dit is zó nodig.” “Had ik dit maar gehad.” Superfijn. En ook hoopgevend. Maar… enthousiasme alleen is niet genoeg om het ook echt te laten gebeuren. En precies dáárom deze reminder. Want ja, we kennen het allemaal: Iedereen is druk. Komt nog wel. Na die ene meeting. Oh wacht, de brief is kwijt. En ineens is het nu de laatste kans. We Build Bridges is een talent- en netwerkprogramma voor jongeren uit Amsterdam-Noord. Jongeren met motivatie en potentie, maar zonder vanzelfsprekend netwerk of rolmodellen. Ze volgen 6 masterclasses ter voorbereiding op hun eerste stappen op de arbeidsmarkt én worden gekoppeld aan Buddies: professionals uit de wijk. Hierdoor krijgen ze naast begeleiding nog iets belangrijkers: toegang tot netwerken. Dus als je de afgelopen weken dacht “dit is belangrijk”, dan is dit het moment om dat om te zetten in een stem. Stemmen kost je ± 1 minuut. Serieus. Minder tijd dan scrollen naar de volgende post 😉 👉 De link staat in de comments. Dank voor het stemmen en dank voor het delen. - Anna, Eline, Eva & Sebastian …meer