What Waterhandjes does

Waterhandjes is a Dutch student-staffing platform that supplies flexible workforce capacity to organizations in the Netherlands' water sector. Founded circa 2020 and operating as a dedicated unit under parent consultancy Waterprof, the company maintains a pool of more than 100 students with water-related studies and deploys an average of 20 per month across roughly 50 project assignments annually. Its work is delivered through six service lines: data management and GIS, fieldwork and measurements, project support, visualization and communication, policy research, and event support. Technical execution relies on established tools including ArcGIS, QGIS and AutoCAD for data structuring, geographic information systems work and visualization, alongside on-site field capabilities such as rainwater decoupling support, household interviews, flood-level measurement and aquatic ecology monitoring.

The company serves Dutch waterschappen (water boards), gemeenten (municipalities), provincies (provinces), water-sector businesses, knowledge institutes and foundations — a client base that is heavily public-sector but diversified across project types. Named clients include Waterschap Limburg, Provincie Utrecht, Provincie Flevoland, Gemeente Zeist, MijnGemeenteDichtbij, Delfluent Services, Buro Wolkorte and Maritime & Offshore Nederland. Waterhandjes is run by three full-time staff — Programmamanager Edgar Peijnenborgh and student coordinators Jelle Olrichs and Esmé Oonk — who match students to assignments and coordinate delivery.

Revenue is generated on a project-based, pay-as-you-go model in which clients submit detailed intake requests specifying scope, required student headcount, budget and timeline, and are billed according to hours and project requirements. Go-to-market combines direct outreach through website contact forms with referral-driven growth via the Waterprof network and word-of-mouth within the Dutch water sector. The company holds no external funding, has no disclosed revenue, and operates exclusively within the Netherlands.

Name

Waterhandjes

Legal name

Waterhandjes

Website

https://waterhandjes.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Waterhandjes is a Dutch student-staffing platform, operating under parent Waterprof, that deploys water-studies students on data management, GIS, fieldwork, project support, policy research and event assignments for water boards, municipalities, provinces and water-sector businesses in the Netherlands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Sector Staffing Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Water Resources, WASH & Integrated Water Management (BPADALAH)

Keywords

• Student staffing services
• Water sector consultancy
• GIS data management
• Fieldwork deployment
• Project staffing solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Student staffing services: Waterhandjes provides flexible staffing solutions by deploying students for water sector projects. Revenue is generated through charging clients for student labor hours or project-based fees. Clients include water boards, municipalities, provinces, businesses, knowledge institutes and foundations who need additional capacity for data management, field work, project support, visualization, policy research and event support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Waterhandjes is a Dutch student-staffing platform that deploys students with water-related studies to organizations in the water sector for data management, GIS work, fieldwork, project support, communication, policy research, and event support. Services are sold as project-based staffing assignments to water boards, municipalities, provinces, businesses, knowledge institutes, and foundations. Deliveries are coordinated by a small core team operating under parent consultancy Waterprof.

Product overview

Waterhandjes is a student staffing platform providing flexible workforce solutions for organizations in the Dutch water sector. The company has a pool of over 100 students with water-related studies who are deployed across six core service offerings: Databeheer en GIS (data management and geographic information systems), Veldwerk (fieldwork and measurements), Projectsupport (project coordination and quick-scans), Visualisatie en Communicatie (design and communication services), Beleidsonderzoek (policy research), and Evenementondersteuning (event support). Services target waterschappen (water boards), municipalities, provinces, businesses, knowledge institutes, and foundations. The company operates as part of Waterprof, a consulting firm specializing in water, climate, and energy issues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Databeheer en GIS Data management and GIS service for water-sector clients, covering digitization of documents, data collection, structuring and integration into databases or Geographic Information Systems, model studies, and data analyses using ArcGIS, QGIS, and AutoCAD.
• Veldwerk On-site fieldwork service for water-sector clients, including rainwater decoupling for climate adaptation, conducting interviews, performing measurements (such as flood level determinations), monitoring aquatic ecology, and processing results into digital templates and reports.
• Projectsupport Project coordination and support service for water-sector clients, including planning and progress tracking, communicating updates to stakeholders, keeping participants informed, producing progress reports, and conducting quick-scans on project topics.
• Visualisatie en Communicatie Design and communication service for water-sector clients, including updating website pages, creating visual materials, supporting promotional campaigns, conducting telephone surveys, and writing or improving texts to reach target audiences.
• Beleidsonderzoek Policy research service for water-sector clients, interpreting questions about current policies through literature searches, contacting relevant parties, bundling information, and producing analysis reports with findings.
• Evenementondersteuning Event support service for water-sector clients, including preparation, organization, and coordination of events such as managing booths, informing and guiding visitors, conducting interviews, collecting results, and answering substantive questions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 students available with water-related studies
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• WaterprofcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWaterhandjes operates as an organization under Waterprof, a consultancy specializing in water, climate and energy questions. Waterprof provides organizational support, client network access, and strategic direction. Edgar Peijnenborgh can be reached at [email protected].

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Yacht: Netherlands-based consultancy and staffing firm placing experienced professionals in technical and public-sector roles. Comparable to Waterhandjes' project-staffing model, though Yacht focuses on senior professionals rather than students.
• USG Engineering: Dutch consultancy-staffing hybrid specializing in engineering and technical placements, including in water and infrastructure. Closely comparable to Waterhandjes' model of placing skilled workers into water-sector project work.
• Young Capital: Major Dutch student and young-professional staffing platform. Operates in the same recruitment pool Waterhandjes draws from and serves similar client types (government, project-based employers).

Broad incumbents

• Randstad Nederland: Largest general staffing firm in the Netherlands, with established water-sector and public-sector contracts. A broad incumbent that could easily replicate Waterhandjes' niche with greater resources.
• Tempo-Team: Major Dutch staffing firm (part of Randstad group) placing workers across government and project-based clients. Broad incumbent operating in adjacent staffing territory to Waterhandjes.
• Witteveen+Bos: Dutch engineering consultancy specializing in water, infrastructure and delta technology. Hires the same talent pool and shares the same client base (water boards, municipalities) as Waterhandjes.
• Royal HaskoningDHV: Large Dutch engineering consultancy with deep water-sector and flood-protection practices. Often hires the same Dutch water-students talent pool; potential client, competitor, or acquirer for Waterhandjes.
• Arcadis Netherlands: Global design and consultancy firm with a significant Dutch water, climate adaptation and resilience practice. Potential client or acquirer given overlapping customer base.
• Sweco Netherlands: European engineering consultancy with strong Dutch water and infrastructure footprint. Comparable customer base (waterschappen, municipalities, provinces) and could substitute Waterhandjes' services internally.

Others

• Fugro: Dutch-headquartered geo-data and site-investigation specialist. Comparable domain (water data, GIS, field measurements) and toolchain (GIS-based field data collection) to Waterhandjes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/waterhandjes
• Instagraminstagram.com/waterhandjes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Waterhandjes