Souldivers

What Souldivers does

Souldivers is a PADI 5-star dive center and community club based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, operating under the legal entity Stichting PADI Duikcentrum Souldivers, a Dutch non-profit foundation. The center offers the full PADI certification ladder — from introductory Discover Scuba sessions and youth programs (Seal Team, Master Seal Team, Junior Open Water) through Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue, EFR, and specialty courses (Deep, Nitrox, Wreck, Dry Suit, Navigation, Sidemount, Search & Recovery, Photography) up to professional Divemaster — alongside a recurring 5* club membership, recreational fun dives, and a small e-commerce shop for gift certificates and branded merchandise. Technical infrastructure is standard scuba equipment (tanks, regulators, BCDs, drysuits, wetsuits); there is no proprietary software or AI platform, and all training is delivered in person at recreatiecentrum Oostervant in Rotterdam with open-water sessions at Dutch sites in Zeeland and Zevenhuizerplas.

The business is organized as a community-led direct-to-consumer operation: pricing is per-course with one-time fees ranging from €89 (ReActivate) to €944 (Divemaster), supplemented by €15–€60 event tickets, an annual club subscription, and gift certificates (€30–€300). Customer acquisition runs through the company website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, email newsletters, and events (BBQs, dive trips), with strong word-of-mouth generated by the 5* club. The clientele spans non-diver beginners, aspiring certified divers, families with children, certified divers seeking community, professional-track divers, and conservation-minded participants; no enterprise or B2B customers are referenced.

Souldivers additionally positions itself through marine conservation, having adopted two dive sites under the Waarnemen OnderWater initiative in partnership with Stichting ANEMOON (since February 2021) and partnered with the Indonesian Biru Foundation (end of 2021) to support coral reef restoration. Operations remain single-city (Rotterdam) with seasonal open-water activity in Zeeland; revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the organization has no external investors or parent company.

Name

Souldivers

Legal name

Stichting PADI Duikcentrum Souldivers

Website

https://souldivers.nl

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Souldivers is a Rotterdam-based PADI 5-star dive center and community club offering the full PADI certification ladder (Discover Scuba through Divemaster), specialty courses, youth programs, recreational fun dives, and a 5* club membership for individual consumers in the Netherlands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scuba Diving Education and Recreational Diving Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (56152)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Dive Centers & Scuba Training (PADI/SSI, certifications) (THAAAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scuba Diving & Freediving Centers (Training, Guided Dives) (THAAAKAD), Diving Experiences (Scuba Dives, Dive Trips, PADI/SSI Courses) (THAJAJAD), Dive & Snorkel Guides / Dive Masters (Boat-Based & Shore-Based) (THAAALAC)

Keywords

• Scuba diving courses
• PADI certification training
• Diving club membership
• Recreational dive center
• Underwater education services

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Diving courses and certifications: One-time fees for PADI-certified courses including Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue, Divemaster, Seal Team, Junior Open Water, and specialty courses. Prices range from approximately €89 to €944 depending on course level. Discounts offered to 5-star club members.
2. Club membership (5*club): Annual/membership model offering free participation in fun dives and night dives, discounts on follow-up courses, and access to exclusive events. Members receive preferential pricing on courses and equipment rental.
3. Event-based activities: Revenue from organized fun dives, night dives, dive trips to Zeeland, BBQ events, and other recreational diving activities. Event tickets range from €15 to €60 depending on activity and membership status.
4. Merchandise and gift cards: Sale of Souldivers-branded merchandise including coffee mugs (€20) and gift certificates (€30 to €300). Gift certificates can be applied toward any course or activity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Souldivers operates a PADI 5-star dive center and diving club in Rotterdam, delivering the full PADI course spectrum — from introductory experiences (Discover Scuba Diving, Seal Team for children aged 8+, Junior Open Water) through core certifications (Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue), specialty courses (Deep, Navigation, Nitrox, Drysuit, Night, Wreck, Search & Recovery, Sidemount, Drift, Buoyancy, Equipment Specialist, Digital Underwater Photography, AWARE), and professional-level training (Divemaster, EFR Instructor, Self-Reliant Diver). It also runs a 5-star Club membership offering free fun and night dives, course discounts, exclusive events (BBQs, dive trips), gift certificates, and branded merchandise.

Product overview

Souldivers is a PADI-certified diving center and club based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, offering a comprehensive portfolio of diving education and recreational services. The core offering consists of PADI certification courses ranging from beginner (Discover Scuba Diving, Open Water) through professional levels (Divemaster), along with specialty courses and recreational fun dives. The portfolio includes dedicated youth programs (Seal Team, Master Seal Team, Junior Open Water), refresher courses (ReActivate), first aid training (EFR), and a premium 5-star club membership. The company also operates a small e-commerce shop selling gift certificates and branded merchandise. All training is conducted at recreatiecentrum Oostervant in Rotterdam with open water training at various Dutch dive sites.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 5* Club: Exclusive club membership offering free participation in fun dives and night dives, discounts on follow-up courses, and exclusive events

Products and services

• Discover Scuba Diving (Proefduik)

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Indonesian Biru Foundation (IBF)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021End of 2021, Souldivers partnered with Indonesian Biru Foundation, a Lombok-based coral reef restoration organization, in collaboration with TU Delft students via Reef Support. The partnership supports IBF's coral reef lab and coral planting efforts with local communities in Central Indonesia. Souldivers promotes the project to its members, inviting them to support through coral adoption or following IBF on social media.
• Stichting ANEMOONminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2021Since February 2021, Souldivers has adopted two dive sites (Goudzwaard in the Oosterschelde and Strandgaper in the Zevenhuizerplas) as part of its Waarnemen OnderWater (WOW) initiative. Through this partnership, Souldivers regularly monitors and records underwater flora and fauna at these sites and submits data to Stichting ANEMOON's Monitoring Project Onderwater Oever (MOO). The data supports environmental policy decisions and biodiversity trend analysis.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SSI (Scuba Schools International): SSI is PADI's principal global competitor, offering an alternative end-to-end scuba certification curriculum through affiliated dive centers worldwide. Retail consumers choosing between PADI- and SSI-certified schools represent the most direct substitution dynamic for Souldivers.

Emerging players

• TDI/SDI (Technical Diving International): TDI/SDI offers technical and recreational diving certifications that overlap with PADI's professional and specialty offerings (e.g., deep, wreck, sidemount, decompression procedures). Several Souldivers instructors hold technical credentials, making TDI/SDI a relevant comparator for advanced and pro-level training.
• RAID Diving: RAID is a newer recreational diving agency positioning itself on more flexible e-learning-first training models. It overlaps with PADI-affiliated centers on consumer certification choice and represents an emerging competitive threat to established PADI centers like Souldivers.

Others

• NAUI Worldwide: NAUI is one of the original US-based recreational scuba certification agencies. It is comparable as a competing training standard whose certifications consumers may choose over PADI when selecting a dive school.
• DAN (Divers Alert Network): DAN is the global diving safety organization providing emergency medical assistance, insurance, and dive medicine research. It is not a direct competitor but is comparable as an ecosystem participant closely tied to dive training, certification standards, and diver safety culture.
• Stichting ANEMOON: Stichting ANEMOON is the Dutch foundation running the MOO underwater monitoring project that Souldivers has fed with citizen-science dive data since Feb 2021. It is comparable as a non-profit diving-related organization that supports the Dutch marine biodiversity community in which Souldivers operates.
• CMAS (Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques): CMAS is the international federation governing recreational diving certifications across Europe and beyond, with affiliated national federations. It is comparable as an alternative training framework that competes for the same diver candidates, though it does not run retail dive centers itself.
• Indonesian Biru Foundation (IBF): IBF is Souldivers' Lombok-based coral reef restoration partner. While not a peer in the training sense, it is thematically related as a diving-adjacent organization and a partner Souldivers actively promotes to its members for conservation engagement and fundraising.

Regional players

• BSAC (British Sub-Aqua Club): BSAC is a UK-based membership-club diving organization offering its own certification pathway. It is comparable to Souldivers in combining training with a club/community membership model, although it primarily serves the British market rather than the Netherlands.

Broad incumbents

• PADI Worldwide: PADI is the parent training agency whose curriculum, certifications, and 5-star center rating system define Souldivers' entire product offering. It is the standard-setter for the recreational scuba industry and the umbrella under which Souldivers operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@souldivers
• Facebookfacebook.com/Souldiversduikcentrum
• Instagraminstagram.com/souldivers.nl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/souldivers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Souldivers