Updates

Check out the latest news about Upstream Festival.

Upstream Festival 2026 proves to be a launchpad for founder-focused initiatives

From follow-on support for promising startups to new founder programmes and ecosystem collaboration, this year’s Upstream Festival showed how ideas can keep gaining momentum beyond the event itself.

Impact Report 2026

Upstream Festival 2026 brought together founders, investors, ecosystem builders, corporates, students, and partners from across the Netherlands and beyond for a week centred around one thing: meaningful connections.

All photos and videos of Upstream Festival 2026 are live

Last week, founders, investors, ecosystem builders, and innovators came together in Rotterdam for Upstream Festival 2026. And what a day it was!

Our Platform is live

The platform is live, and you can book your meetings now.

Port & Maritime Guide

A guide for startups and scale-ups to navigate the Dutch port and maritime ecosystem.

Afraid to Win: How the Netherlands is Raising a Generation of Entrepreneurs Who Play It Safe

This session dives into where playing it safe creates strength, where it limits growth, and how to navigate both worlds more effectively.

Upstream Festival Speakers - Part 3

We don't only have speakers that will be in a conversation with our moderator, but also panels. Here are some more of our speakers and their bios.

Speakers and workshop hosts Upstream 2026 - Part 2

At Upstream 2026, we have a mix of speakers and workshop hosts. Here are some of them - including our openig act :)

Meet our workshop hosts - Part 1

Here are some of our workshophosts of Upstream 2026