Join us for our regular monthly meeting – it’s online this month!
Date: Thursday 27 August 2026 Location: ONLINE via Zoom – the link to join will be sent before the meeting via email
Agenda: 19:30 Welcome, say Hi to each other! 19:35 Introduction 19:45 Member Highlight, one of our members will introduce her business 19:55 Virtual session with our speaker begins 20:30 Q&A 20:45 Networking via breakout sessions for those who want to connect! 20:55 Share our thoughts 21:00 End
Our topic this month: A Guide to AI: Top Tips on bias and gender
As women building our own businesses, we deserve technology that reflects our voices and values.
This session shines a light on gender bias in AI and offers practical, accessible ways to navigate it.
Together, we’ll explore how to use AI with better awareness of gender outputs , creatively, and confidently — so every woman in the room can better use these tools without losing her power or perspective.
About our speaker:
Digital Liz is dedicated to helping people have more control over the technology they use so that we can navigate digital environments. The aim is to make better informed choices of how to use or not use the technology.
Our topic this month: Broodfonds and some information on the proposed legislation on the BAZ (Basic Insurance for Disability for the Self-Employed)
In this online meeting you’ll discover how a Broodfonds works, how it fits into the Dutch social security system, and what upcoming legislation means for you as a ZZP’er.
In just 15–20 minutes, you’ll gain practical insights to make smarter decisions about your financial safety net.
Date: Thursday 25 June 2026 Location: ONLINE via Zoom – the link to join will be sent before the meeting via email
Agenda: 19:30 Welcome, say Hi to each other! 19:35 Introduction 19:45 Member Highlight, one of our members will introduce her business 19:55 Virtual session with our speaker begins 20:30 Q&A 20:45 Networking via breakout sessions for those who want to connect! 20:55 Share our thoughts 21:00 End
About our speaker: Dymphna Elsink
Former vice-chair of the WBII, and formerly known as Jouw Assistente, Dymphna Elsink is now co-partner at De Sprank. A steward owned company providing Waldorf childcare for children from 2 years old up to primary school.
Social Capital and Mammoet Oude Bouwmaterialen are this year’s winners of the Haagse Parel. The Haagse Parel is a municipal award for companies and individuals who make a special contribution to the Hague economy. There are two categories. Social Capital, a social staffing agency that helps people with a structural need for guidance find sustainable paid work in the hospitality sector, is the winner in the ‘Exceptional Contribution’ category. In the ‘Sustainable Enterprise’ category, Mammoet Oude Bouwmaterialen, where authentic building materials are given a second life, took home the entrepreneur award.
Alderman Nur Icar (SMEs, Employment and Participation) announced the winner of the ‘Exceptional Contribution’ category. Alderman Arjen Kapteijns (Energy Transition, Mobility and Raw Materials) presented the award to the winner of the ‘Sustainable Enterprise’ category. In addition to the Haagse Parel, both winners were presented with a cheque for 5,000 euros, which can be used to grow their businesses.
“The Hague has a huge number of entrepreneurs who are significant to their neighborhood, contribute to employment, or make a social impact in other ways. Social Capital is a wonderful example of this: they make a difference for people by giving them a chance to develop towards employment. It is wonderful to reflect on this today with the presentation of the Haagse Parel!”, says Icar.
Kapteijns: “Many entrepreneurs are active in our city who demonstrate that sustainability is simply possible. Mammoet Oude Bouwmaterialen truly stands out. They give used building materials a new life and show that circularity doesn’t have to be complicated, but rather smart, creative, and absolutely necessary. Through what they do, we save raw materials and energy, and they inspire other entrepreneurs to also pay attention to sustainability. That is why this Hague Gem is more than well-deserved.”
Three nominees
There were three nominees per category. They were announced at the end of April, after which the public could vote for their favorite company. The three contenders in the ‘Exceptional Contribution’ category were Apotheek Pillen en Praten, Eye Security, and Social Capital. Hubbel Stadslogistiek, Seepje, and Mammoet Oude Bouwmaterialen were nominated in the ‘Sustainable Enterprise’ category.
Public and jury votes
The final result was determined for 40% by the more than 3,500 public votes. The remaining 60% was determined by the expert jury. This consisted of Harry Wientjens (Economic Board The Hague), Pieter Scholten (MKB Den Haag), Karima el Bouchtaoui (VNO-NCW region The Hague), Stefan Baecke (Yespers, winner of the Haagse Parel ‘Impactful Circular Enterprise’ 2025) and Daan Krijger (Nelis Company, winner of the Haagse Parel ‘Exceptional Contribution’ 2025).
The Hague Inspires!
The Entrepreneurship Award was presented during Den Haag Inspireert!, the entrepreneur and employer event organized by the Economic Board The Hague and the Municipality of The Hague. In addition to the presentation of the Haagse Parel, the program consisted of bringing together entrepreneurs, government officials, educational institutions, and other organizations from the region. During the event, themes such as AI, labor market development, and entrepreneurship took center stage, featuring inspiration sessions, discussions, and networking opportunities.
Photographer: Michel Mees
Photo caption: Aldermen Icar and Kapteijns with Social Capital and Mammoet Oude Bouwmaterialen, the winners of the Haagse Parel 2026
Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept. It is already transforming the way we work, the skills we need, and the opportunities available to us. Automation, generative AI, decision support systems and robotics are making an impact across nearly every industry.
But what does this actually mean for your career?
In this meetup, we’ll move beyond the headlines and explore the real implications of AI for the job market. Rather than focusing on fear or hype, we’ll take a grounded, practical look at how roles are evolving, which new opportunities are emerging, and how you can position yourself to benefit from these changes.
We’ll discuss questions like:
Which jobs are most likely to change and how?
What new roles are being created because of AI?
What skills are becoming more valuable in an AI-driven world?
How can non-technical professionals stay relevant?
What does “working with AI” actually look like in practice?
This event is open to students, working professionals, and anyone who is curious or interested in how AI is transforming the job market. This session will give you a clearer picture of where things are heading and where you might fit in.
Where: The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Johanna Westerdijkplein 75, 2521 EN Den Haag
When: ⏱️ 17:30 – 20:00
Agenda
17:30: Doors open. Pie, dinner & refreshments served in the restaurant area.
18:30: Participants move to the “Speakers Corner”. Opening presentation by Vikram.
Renée Tentori: is a lecturer in Professional Skills and Internship Coordinator for Applied Computer Science at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, where she supports students in navigating the impact of AI on work and careers. She is also the Community Manager of the university’s AI Hub Community of Practice. She focuses on AI literacy, with a particular interest in the connection and collaboration between humans and technology. Renée brings a strong emphasis on inclusion into her work, such as though her volunteer role as Education Ambassador for the Neurodiversity Foundation. With decades of experience in communication, entrepreneurship, and community building, she helps people learn more about and engage with AI in practical, human-centred ways.
Rick Vink: is a Machine Learning Engineer currently working at Metriek and an AI Trainer, and founder of AI-Codex; an education and consulting platform for hands-on ML. With 8+ years of experience building end-to-end AI systems and teaching over 1,000 students across 8+ courses, he specializes in NLP, LLMs, and agentic AI engineering.
Alison Mooney : is a Senior Data Scientist based in Amsterdam with 6 years of experience building AI and ML products across e-commerce, pharma, and telecoms. Currently at ASICS, she leads end-to-end AI initiatives from discovery to deployment while mentoring data scientists and working cross-functionally with product, engineering, and design teams. She’s passionate about bridging the gap between technical complexity and business impact, and is currently focused on growing into people leadership.
Students at institutions across four continents, including The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS), will graduate ready to build the open financial systems the world needs.
The Interledger Foundation (ILF), an organization building and advocating for an interoperable payments network, has partnered with over 10 universities across North America, Europe, Australia and Africa to bring open payments curriculum into the classroom. The new initiative introduces programs designed to build the next generation of payments leaders who understand where today’s financial systems fall short and how to build something better with open finance.
Payments are fragmented today. Most merchants need to accept a mix of cash, credit cards, debit, buy now pay later options and other digital payment methods to ensure point of sale limitations aren’t a roadblock to customers, and each of these methods requires different technical capabilities and standalone integrations. Everything coexists separately, but nothing inherently works together and there are currently few incentives to opening up the silos that keep them apart. The result is a fragmented, costly and slow global payments ecosystem where money that could settle in seconds instead takes days.
The Interledger Foundation is addressing this challenge with a multi-country educational effort to promote interoperability by proliferating its Interledger Protocol (ILP). This open-source network enables any currency to move freely across institutions and borders without the limitations characteristic of the current patchwork financial system. When deployed at scale, ILP could serve as the foundation for digital public infrastructures (DPIs) similar to India’s UPI and Brazil’s Pix – but with cross-border capabilities.
Payments issues are core to the new curriculum that the Interledger Foundation and universities are bringing to the next generation of entrepreneurs and technologists who will help shape the future of financial infrastructure and expand the talent pipeline. The goal is to make open payments the default rather than the exception through the following programs:
Alabama A&M University (Alabama, USA) is embedding open payments into credit-bearing business coursework through its Dollarcraft program, where students research financial inclusion challenges and build ILP-enabled digital banking prototypes alongside engineering students.
Atlanta University Center Consortium (Georgia, USA) — Comprised of Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Spelman College — is uniting 25 HBCU students to design and prototype open payment solutions that address systemic financial inequities.
Benedict College (South Carolina, USA) is launching a new ILP Pathways program in which students complete a 150-hour internship, then mentor local youth and help minority-owned businesses adopt open payment solutions.
Bowie State University (Maryland, USA) built a multi-campus open payments program that engaged more than 700 students across four continents through integrated coursework, micro-internships, and hackathon-style events, expanding to seven additional HBCUs nationwide.
Covenant University (Nigeria) is launching two new courses dedicated to open payments and ILP, giving students hands-on experience building interoperable fintech solutions through innovation labs, hackathons, and community digital inclusion clinics.
The Hague University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands) is launching an interdisciplinary course bridging finance, law, and technology, which is the first effort to build a European talent pipeline in open payments education.
USIU-Africa (Kenya) is integrating the Interledger Protocol into entrepreneurship training and startup incubation in Nairobi, equipping 40 students to build financial inclusion solutions for Kenya’s underbanked communities.
University of Cape Town (South Africa) embedded open payments into its Master’s in Financial Technology program, requiring students to build fully operational payment applications as capstone projects. It also launched a dedicated Financial Innovation Hub for fintech research across Africa.
Western Sydney University (Australia) is integrating an eight-week ILP curriculum module into its cybersecurity and business programs, challenging students to design and stress-test secure, interoperable fintech applications.
“The next generation of leaders has the opportunity to build payment systems that improve the closed, siloed systems of the past,” said Briana Marbury, President and CEO at Interledger Foundation. “Working with these universities, we have the opportunity to instill in students the knowledge and tools they need to design for interoperability from day one, so open payments become the standard, rather than the exception.”
These university partnerships are one part of a broader effort by the Interledger Foundation to build an open financial system where sending money is as simple as sending an email. ILF continues to expand its ecosystem through partnerships with organizations and individuals to simplify open payments infrastructure, including People’s Clearinghouse, Paysys Labs, and Kanzu Finance. The Interledger Foundation has invested more than $21 million in over 200 projects across 42 countries, backing developers, entrepreneurs, artists, and innovators who are building solutions that remove barriers within outdated and restrictive financial systems.
For other schools interested in getting involved, the Interledger Foundation will open a new call for applications later in the year.
About Interledger Foundation
The Interledger Foundation is an organization that builds and advocates for an open, interoperable payment network where transactions are not limited to a particular bank, mobile money provider, or location. The organization works to increase access to digital financial services for the 1.4 billion people worldwide who are currently excluded from traditional banking systems through the Interledger Protocol (ILP). The organization works with partners to integrate its ILP into existing and emerging financial and payments infrastructures. It currently has large-scale projects underway with Wallet Guru, People’s Clearinghouse, and miPlata. Learn more at: www.interledger.org
Text and images provided by the Interledger Foundation
Featured image: executive leadership team at The Interledger Foundation, including Evan Schwartz (left), Briana Marbury (center), and Stefan Thomas (right).
The Province of South Holland recently joined forces with the cities of Leiden, The Hague, Rotterdam, and Delft for a new collaboration within the national New Dutch movement. Together with the Province of South Holland, these cities form the South Holland New Dutch Alliance, in which they contribute from their own roles to broader cooperation within the province. Through this alliance, the partners strengthen their collaboration and better utilize their collective strength within the region and beyond.
The collaboration is built on the strength of the cities themselves. Each city brings its own profile and expertise: from life science & health in Leiden to maritime innovation in Rotterdam, impact and cybersecurity in The Hague, and high-tech engineering in Delft. It is precisely these areas of expertise, along with complementary strengths within the province, that together form the basis for the collaboration within South Holland.
Strong cities as a foundation The alliance deliberately opts for a network-oriented approach in which the cities take center stage. They retain their own identity and positioning, while joining forces and putting stories and innovations from the South Holland region in the spotlight. This pooling creates a powerful and recognizable offering for talent, businesses, and investors. “The strength of this collaboration lies not in a single overarching narrative, but rather in the combination of strong, distinctive cities that reinforce each other. Together, these unique qualities form the strength of the Province of South Holland,” says Meindert Stolk, Deputy for Economy and Innovation of the Province of South Holland.
Stronger together in profiling and attractiveness With the South Holland Alliance, the partners aim to contribute to an attractive business climate, attract international talent, and strengthen innovation ecosystems. By joining forces within the New Dutch movement, they increase their reach and impact, both nationally and internationally. The added value for South Holland therefore lies in the collaboration itself: connecting urban qualities, networks, and stories into a coherent and powerful whole.
Partners in the alliance The South Holland New Dutch Alliance consists of Leiden&Partners, The Hague & Partners, Rotterdam Partners, Delft Marketing, and the Province of South Holland. The agreement was signed by the management boards of the participating organizations. Marco Esser, Director of The Hague & Partners: “The Hague has a strong international position in the fields of impact, cybersecurity, and new energy. By connecting this strength with the other major cities in our province, we can present a much stronger and more complete story both nationally and internationally. This collaboration enables us, as a region, to contribute to an attractive and innovative ecosystem that draws talent and businesses to South Holland.”
