Dutch Startup Solvoz Wins Best Innovation Prize: Revolutionizing Procurement in Aid and Healthcare Amidst Budget Cuts
The Hague, November 14, 2024 – Solvoz has proudly won the Best Innovation Prize as The Hague Innovator of 2024, awarded at ImpactFest, the flagship event of ImpactCity. Announced by Alderman Saskia Bruines, this prize recognizes Solvoz’s innovative approach to creating a global, transparent, and fair marketplace that supports humanitarian and development aid, health, and impact organizations worldwide. The jury praised the vision, dedication, and innovation that Solvoz employs to solve critical global issues and strengthen local and regional economies.
A Vision with “Yellow Pages”
Solvoz was born from a vision to recreate the “yellow pages” for a new era—digitally connecting local suppliers with the organizations that need them, bridging demand and supply across regions and sectors. Claire Barnhoorn inspired by her experiences working in places like DR Congo and Mali, witnessed firsthand the reliance on international suppliers in humanitarian aid, even for goods available locally. This shift would strengthen economies, empower local businesses, and create more resilient communities prepared for future crises.
Creating Impactful Change
Over the past years, Solvoz has already made a significant impact, supporting various NGOs globally. With Solvoz’s technology, organizations have seen an average 30% savings in procurement budgets and over 75% in process costs—results that demonstrate the platform’s value both in efficiency and in cost-effectiveness. This platform is built to be compliant with funder and donor regulations, fully auditable, and transparent, addressing critical needs in the non-profit, healthcare, and other impact-driven sectors.
A large part of the expenditures of organizations, including non-profits, goes to their supply chains. Solvoz offers a platform that can also integrate sustainability and social impact into procurement decisions. This helps organizations, for example, to align their procurement with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For instance, regarding SDG5 (gender equality), Solvoz is a co-founder of the Gender Responsive Procurement Alliance. “In order to increase their impact, NGOs that work for gender equality should also include a gender lens and buy from gender responsive suppliers.” Astrid Aafjes adds, co-founder of the Gender Responsive Procurement Alliance.
Transforming Aid and Healthcare Delivery
Solvoz’s mission is to transform how non-profit sectors operate by maximizing the impact of every euro spent and empowering communities globally. “We are building a future where aid and healthcare delivery aren’t just about meeting needs but about strengthening the resilience of entire regions,” said Claire Barnhoorn, founder of Solvoz. “Our work goes beyond technology; it’s about empowering agencies and communities, creating resilient local economies, and transforming the way we deliver aid and healthcare.”
Empowering Economies in Challenging Times
Solvoz represents a disruptive new market mechanism, shifting away from traditional, often costly international sourcing toward a more sustainable, regionally driven procurement model. Solvoz developed a platform for optimising procurement processes in the humanitarian and health sector. This platform connects regional suppliers with organizations globally, revolutionizing the way aid and healthcare sectors procure goods and services. By making aid delivery faster, more effective, and supportive of regional economies, Solvoz is setting a new standard in procurement.
This innovation comes at a crucial time as the Dutch government has announced significant budget cuts of €1 billion on NGOs. These cuts force NGOs to work more efficiently and find innovative solutions to continue their vital work. Solvoz’s platform is perfectly positioned to help NGOs navigate these financial constraints by offering cost-effective and efficient procurement solutions.
“Solvoz is a true impact startup that we, as The Hague, can be proud of. With their innovative procurement system for NGOs, they empower local companies to compete fairly for tenders. With impact at its core and technology as an enabler, Solvoz with Claire is, as we call it at Unknown Group, a founder that fixes the future. As a jury member, I was delighted to select Solvoz as the winner of The Hague Innovators Challenge,” said Martin Luxemburg, Director Public and Partnerships at Unknown Group.
Recognition from The Hague Innovators Challenge
Solvoz’s innovation and impact have been recognized through the Best Innovation Prize from The Hague Innovators Challenge, organized by ImpactCity. This award, which highlights companies tackling global issues with scalable and innovative solutions, is a testament to Solvoz’s dedication to creating lasting change. “Winning this award here, in The Hague—the city that sparked our journey—reinforces our commitment to support organisations globally, increase efficiencies in our sectors, building resilient, connected economies through technology and collaboration,” added Claire.
“We are proud of this wonderful Hague startup and especially the founder, Claire Barnhoorn, who has been passionately working for several years on her mission to support local organizations in procurement and planning. During the pitch session, she brilliantly demonstrated the impact Solvoz can make by making procurement more efficient and effective, ensuring that all these saved resources can truly reach the aid organizations that need and can use the money so well,” said Irene Samwel, Program Manager ImpactCity.
