The Dutch government offers various types of assistance to entrepreneurs, from funding to making life easier. If your idea is in line with the requirements of one of the subsidy programs, then you can apply for a grant through the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).
Subsidies are basically government support for certain industries or activities which would not be profitable without it. Subsidies typically are provided to help struggling industries as well as to promote new innovations or promote particular policies or social goods. They can be economically successful however, they come at a cost to other groups (for example food subsidies help farmers, while increasing prices for consumers) However, they can also fail economically, but they accomplish objectives in terms of culture and political.
Government-provided subsidy can take a variety of forms, such as grants or tax breaks, rebates, direct cash payments to customers or suppliers and price control. They may also be indirect, for instance, road taxes that are paid by all motorists rather than just those who use the roads or railway track access fees that are not only imposed for passenger trains.
Subsidy advocates claim that they improve economic efficiency by ensuring protection from competition from abroad or by promoting domestic production. They can also be useful in preventing market failures such as externalities or information asymmetries. However, critics say that these policies can have negative effects, from inequality to corruption and that they block more equitable and efficient public spending. They also create perverse incentives. For instance, a company that receives a government subsidy may be enticed to give money to politicians, which can contribute to “regulatory capture” and rent seeking.