Start Her Up
A new path to economic inclusion for international women in the Netherlands.
Through training, connection, and digital tools, Start Her Up helps women shape their own businesses, on their own terms.
What Is Start Her Up?
More than training. Start Her Up is A long-term pathway to entrepreneurship
Start Her Up is a 3-phase learning journey designed for unemployed women in the Netherlands who want to start or grow their own businesses, whether in food & hospitality, handmade products, wellness, coaching, local services, or creative industries.
Localised & Inclusive
Built with the realities of migrant women in mind: family responsibilities, language barriers, and limited access to networks.
Skills-Focused
Everything you need to build a small business, clearly structured, hands-on, and adapted to your life.
Experience-Informed
You’ll learn by doing: testing your idea, creating your business model, practicing your pitch, or designing your brand.
Long-Term Value
The journey doesn’t end after the last session. We build networks that grow with you.
The 3-Phase Program
Start Her Up isn’t just a program, it’s a movement. We empower unemployed women in the Brabant region to transform powerful ideas into sustainable businesses. It’s innovative, it’s inclusive, and it’s working.
We guide our participants through a powerful 3-phase program:
1. Get Inspired
We start where most programs don’t: with mindset. Many international women in the Netherlands face self-doubt, isolation, and uncertainty about their professional worth. This phase helps rebuild confidence, strengthen identity, and lay a solid foundation for entrepreneurship. Because no business can grow if the person behind it doesn’t believe in it first.
2. Get Skilled
Learn essential business skills: how to register your business, design your brand, sell your product or service, and use digital tools confidently. Topics include: Business model, Branding & visibility, Digital literacy, financial basics, marketing, customer communication, networking
3. Get Connected
Build the confidence and cultural awareness needed to grow your business in the Dutch market. You’ll learn how to network effectively, pitch your idea, and navigate Dutch business culture, while building real connections that support both your business and your integration.
The Thryves Approach
A modern framework for micro entrepreneurs
A new way to build enterpreneurial talent
A new way to build enterpreneurial talent
We offer modular learning that builds practical capabilities: branding, business strategy, local regulation, and customer engagement, tailored to migrant women in the Dutch context.
Competence-Based Training for Real-World Skills
Competence-Based Training for Real-World Skills
Our approach combines long-term learning with practical entrepreneurial development. We focus on four pillars:
Experience-Driven Micro-Business Models
Experience-Driven Micro-Business Models
Many participants explore experience-based services, from craft workshops and coaching sessions to wellness offerings and events. These models respond to trends in the experience economy, allowing entrepreneurs to monetize not just products, but their skills, knowledge, and cultural perspectives.
While not every participant chooses this route, it offers a flexible, low-barrier path to starting a business, and often leads to strong personal connection with clients.
Cultural-Sector-Aligned Learning
Cultural-Sector-Aligned Learning
We integrate storytelling, co-creation, and visual thinking to help women shape authentic, values-driven brands, whether they’re launching products, services, or hybrid offers.
Human-Centered Tech Integration
Human-Centered Tech Integration
We focus on accessible and ethical digital tools, from building websites and creating content with AI, to understanding online privacy and leveraging e-commerce. The goal is digital independence, not tech perfection.
Is This Program Right for You?
Start Her Up is designed for international women who are ready to take action.
To join, you must:
Be currently unemployed
Be strongly committed to becoming an entrepreneur
Have a concrete idea for your business
Be able to attend sessions in person in Brabant (Eindhoven region)
Dedicate 8 hours/week to live group sessions and 4 hours/week to self-work
Commit to launching your business within 3 months after finishing the program
Speak and understand English at a conversational level
This is not just a course, it’s a decision to build a new professional future, with full support and a clear timeline.
Start Her Up is more than a program—it’s a movement. It shows what’s possible when government, local businesses and community leaders come together with a shared vision of inclusion and empowerment.
A Look Back at the Highlights
Our Contribution to the SDGs
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
Invest. Collaborate. Mentor. Spread the Word.
Thryves and Start Her Up are building an economy where everyone belongs.