Kees Aarts, CEO and founder of the innovative tech scaleup Protix, received the Leading Entrepreneur in Tech (LET) Award 2024 yesterday evening. The award, formerly known as the LOEY Awards but now organised by Techleap.nl, is an annual celebration of high-performing Dutch scaleup founders to highlight their economic and social contributions.
Kees Aarts is the co-founder and CEO of Protix, an international insect farming business that produces alternative animal proteins from insects primarily used in pet food.
Protix tackles challenges
Protix is dedicated to tackling the significant challenges faced by the current food system by utilizing food waste to raise insects and transforming residual streams into organic fertiliser, thereby promoting a circular food chain. At the end of 2023, the company raised €55 million and disclosed plans to expand its operations in the United States.
“This year, Dutch scaleups once again demonstrate their critical role on both economic and societal levels. Kees Aarts deserved this award for his innovative approach and remarkable company growth. He actively works on solving global problems and promotes diversity and inclusion within his organisation. Furthermore, Kees serves as a pivotal ambassador in the ecosystem, assisting other tech companies to advance. He is undoubtedly the deserving winner of the 2024 LET Award,” said jury member Gillian Tans, former CEO of Booking.com.
Kees Aarts, CEO of Protix, comments, “This has been more exhilarating than anything I’ve experienced over the past years. It’s not about selling my product or service now but about receiving recognition from my fellow entrepreneurs, which is truly special. As an entrepreneur, you’re always innovating, creating environments for employees and customers that constantly demand advocacy, sometimes at great cost. Yet, the uniqueness of entrepreneurship is that you accomplish what others cannot.”
The jury, besides Tans, included Matthijs Welle, founder and CEO of Mews and last year’s LET Award winner, Job van der Voort, founder and CEO of Remote and former LOEY winner, and Laurens Groenendijk, co-founder of JustEat Benelux and Dutch Founders Fund.
Omar Zakaria Fouab wins NeXT Award
Omar Zakaria Fouab, the founder of Archipel Academy, a fast-growing EdTech company, was awarded the LET NeXT Award at the event. The award is given to promising startups experiencing remarkable growth in their early stages.
Archipel Academy is a one-stop-shop marketplace that provides access to over 500,000 training courses for reskilling and upskilling employees. It helps individuals keep up with the rapidly changing job market.
“As an entrepreneur, working 80 hours a week, you often miss family time, so it’s profoundly gratifying to pause and be recognised for your impactful work. It’s our social responsibility to make education accessible to everyone. We’re already impacting over 3 million people, and we’re not stopping,” said Omar Zakaria Fouab.
Constantijn van Oranje, Special Envoy of Techleap: “This year’s candidates were outstanding for the LET Award. At the same time, these awards show that there’s still a long way to go in terms of diversity among scaleup founders. We should be proud of these achievements, yet it’s critical to keep diversity high on the agenda.”
Read the orginal article: https://siliconcanals.com/news/protix-let-award-2024/
