Queen Máxima gave a speech this afternoon at the annual conference of the SME Financing Foundation (SMF) in Driebergen. The theme of the inclusive financing market is central to the ‘Mind the Gap’ conference.
According to the Queen, we desperately need SMEs “in the total ecosystem of our economy. But then SMEs must be given opportunities and seize opportunities. And that is not happening enough yet.” According to the Queen, the situation is challenging for four reasons:
1. There is a serious shortage of people
2. The need to become more sustainable is becoming increasingly stronger
3. The companies with the strongest productivity growth are the companies that focus most on digitalization. Anyone who does not invest in digitization will eventually lose ground and runs the risk of being ‘out of business’ after a number of years.
4. The financing of our SMEs is not going well enough.
She then elaborated on better financing options for small and medium-sized businesses. If you would like to read more about this, click here.
Fashion
During the meeting, the queen wore a well-known and updated dress from fashion house Natan.
The garment debuted in June 2015 (left). After five successful rounds, Máxima had the dress extended for the UN visit to Kenya in October 2023 (middle).
On to the accessories, because a lot was happening there too. Máxima transported her make-up, handkerchief and notebook in a bag from the Belgian leather goods house Delvaux. The classic has been around for almost twenty years.
Máxima’s earrings with red ‘stones’ debuted in March 2008 and have been featured thirteen times since then. The last time was seven years ago.
