Dutch co-working space provider and innovator, B. Amsterdam, has announced B. Smart City Hub, a 24000 m2 hall for companies looking for space for assembly, storage and distribution near the center of Amsterdam. The hub is planned to be operational in January 2019 and is dedicated mainly for companies in the waste, water, energy, logistics, smart storage, food and mobility sectors.
“[This] is a great initiative to further strengthen Amsterdam’s excellent startup climate,” said Udo Kock, deputy mayor (economic affairs), Amsterdam. “Amsterdam welcomes innovative and sustainable working spaces like the B. Smart City Hub, to give start-ups the chance to grow and scale-up by facilitating affordable office space [at] a central location”, he added.
B. Amsterdam aims to bring corporates, startups, entrepreneurs and education together in both digital and physical spaces and B. Smart City Hub is the answer to it. It is considered as the “largest start-up ecosystem in Europe”.
This hub is that it will be divided into several areas where companies can bring their own assembly service equipment and staff, all while being able to stay next to the main city ring of Amsterdam.
The company said it is “heavily” working to make the hub an integral part of a more sustainable future for the city. B. Smart City Hub is the first step towards the development of the “West Innovation District”, now known as Riekerpolder.
“We’re hopeful that the B. Smart City Hub will inspire other cities, large and small, to engage its entrepreneurs and harness that innovation for the benefit of a sustainable future,” added Ricardo van Loenen, CEO and co-founder of B.
“This is exactly what the B. Smart City Hub aims to do. It’s a place where anyone can develop, test, and grow anything. I’m grateful for the role we get to play here, and I believe we’ll only see the coworking industry’s involvement in this future continue to grow.”
Since its inception in 2014, B. has partnered with major players at the “center of corporate innovation”, namely Sodexo, PwC, Cisco, Microsoft, IBM and Cognizant.