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Who Do You Vote HHM Entrepreneur Of The Year 2021?

Voting is now open! VOTE here!*

Since its foundation, The Netherlands has been a nation of entrepreneurs. MKB Nederland, the driving force behind many Dutch SMEs, celebrates this every year through the “Day of the Entrepreneur”, on the third Friday of November.

Holland House Mexico is joining the festivities by electing for the third consecutive time the 'HHM Entrepreneur of the Year 2021'. Apart from eternal fame the winner will receive an exclusive interview and a 1 year Silver membership of HHM

This years´ winner of the HHM Entrepreneur of the Year Award will be announced at our first cocktail of the year!

VOTE NOW* - the jury has chosen! You have until 18 November to vote

The first round of this year's “Entrepreneur of the Year 2021” award has ended. On Monday, Novemeber the 1st, the jury of experts met to select the three finalists from all nominees. After carefully examining each candidate, the jury named the following three candidates as finalists. The jury judged based on 3 criteria: innovation, consolidation of business, and sustainability. 

Congratulations to our finalists: 

Lia Bijnsdorp with United Producers of Mexico

In 2016, Lia Bijnsdorp initiated United Producers of Mexico (United Producers of Michoacán at the time), a project that unites local producers of exotic fruits such as mango´s and avocado´s, and assists them to export to The Netherlands and the European Union. Lia quickly identified the need for more agile transportation of fresh produce between the continents and developed a new direct express sea route between Veracruz, Mexico and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The objective is to increase the presence of Mexican distributors in the European market and to create a higher return on investment due to lower transit time, ultimately improving circumstances for local farmers. 

The first ship successfully sailed in September 2020, after a lot of hard work. Mexican producers have to meet European certifications and implement a quality control strategy, two milestones in the development of this project. Currently, Lia is working to establish an “avocado-hub” in the Netherlands to further distribute fruits and vegetables throughout Europe. Lia also contributes actively towards a more inclusive society and has co-organized commercial missions aimed at Latin women; as well as fundraising for Mexican artists with special needs in recent years.

Zohar Timmerman Cruz Perera  with MexNed Servicio de Limpieza 

Based in Mérida, MexNed was founded in November 2019 as a family business that offers cleaning services for domestic purposes. MexNed´s vision is: quality, reliability and fun. Professionalizing the cleaning industry, the company offers employees opportunties to receive training with European standards. 

With 30 full-time employees, MexNed provides steady jobs for domestic workers by placing them outside of the informal business sphere. MexNed plans to expand further in Mérida. 

Marc Wehmeijer with Think Tim 

Marc Wehmeijer is a Dutch-Swiss entrepreneur and former banker with a mission. Through his company Think Tim, founded in 2009, he has been contributing to clean water supply for Mexico.  

Think Tim advises, designs and manufactures solutions for wastewater management, believing in the power of biology to create sustainable ecosystems. Think Tim offers technology in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and biotechnology solutions for treatment processes, the latter including 100% biodegradable cleaning and maintenance products.

In its 10 years of activity, Think Tim has managed to install more than 400 wastewater treatment plants of different capacities in different regions of the national territory. 

Who do you think should be crowned HHM ‘Entrepreneur of the Year 2021’?

Cast your VOTE here! Voting will be open from 02 to 18 November.

We are looking forward to meet you and the nominees at our celebratory cocktail on 19 November.

Registration for this cocktail event can be done through this link or by clicking the button on the top of this page.

Congratulations to all 2021 nominees:

• Glenn van Damme – La Poffería
• Jeroen visser - Tarafert
• Jan de Lange - RH Agroalimentaria
• Zohar Timmerman Cruz Perera - MexNed Servicio de Limpieza  
• Michael Coopman - OMVE Lab & Pilot Equipment
• Debbie Vorachen - Temco Rental Cars
• Arnaud Teigeler - AMTS International
• Leonard Mertens - Advies Consultants
• Marc Wehmeijer - Think Tim
• Dennis de Zeeuw – DQ Horti Soluciones

Special thanks to our Expert Jury: 

• Pavel Medina, Finance Manager of ALT Technologies
• Everard van Zoelen, CEO of ISAOSA and winner of the 2020 HHM Entrepreneur of the Year – Award
• Anne de Guellec, Head of Economic Affairs and Deputy Ambassador of The Netherlands in Mexico

*Please be advised that you can only vote once. Multiple voting clicks will have no effect on the end result.