Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert, accompanied by his Western European trade mission delegation, visited Impact Hub Amsterdam to explore opportunities for increased collaboration between Salt Lake City and Amsterdam.
“The Impact Hub Global Network is an impressive force for collaboration and innovation,” Governor Herbert said. “We’re pleased to take part in this global network with our own hub in Salt Lake City to promote local growth and provide Utah businesses with beneficial international opportunities.”
Tatiana Glad from Impact Hub Amsterdam and Dustin Haggett from Impact Hub Salt Lake signed a memorandum of understanding during the visit to formalize their partnership. The event was sponsored by Utah’s Zions Bank, and attendees included Udo Kock, deputy mayor of Amsterdam.
Impact Hub first opened in 2008 and serves as a co-working space to provide social entrepreneurs with the resources they need to start their businesses. These resources include tax, legal and investor services. There are more than 60 Impact Hub facilities worldwide with over 11,000 members.
The Salt Lake City location began as a pop-up and opened its permanent headquarters downtown in April. In the short time Impact Hub has had a Utah presence, it has contributed to numerous success stories including GREENbike SLC, Utah’s one and only bikeshare program, and the Whole9 eating program. Nutrition, clean air, social justice and alternate transportation are a few areas of social innovation thriving at Impact Hub Salt Lake. The Hub offers a place for startup businesses to thrive as well. Bags to Riches, Globism, Degreed, AnneB Design, Igniter i.o., Simple Citizen and Chapul have found great success after becoming members of the organization.
“We see a lot of synergies as a result of our partnership with Impact Hub; so much so that we have our own dedicated space there,” said Val Hale, executive director of GOED. “The office space is a great way for GOED to interact with the innovator and entrepreneur community to help them be successful. Impact Hub also provides an important global link for these companies to take their businesses to the next level internationally.”
Impact Hub Salt Lake recently announced their participation in a visa program in which individuals can apply for a fellowship and if selected, spend a year in Impact Hub Amsterdam networking, pitching and cultivating their ideas and expanding business in Europe.
“Impact Hub Amsterdam is one of the oldest and most innovative Hubs in our global network,” said Dustin Haggett, Impact Hub Salt Lake CEO. “We’re excited to take our partnership with them to the next level and expect that doing so will further innovation and positively impact our local economies. We’re eager to share ideas, best practices and resources around social responsibility and entrepreneurship with our partners in Amsterdam.”
The fellowship announcement’s timing is significant as Delta Air Lines began offering direct flights between Salt Lake City and Amsterdam in May 2015.