Stichting Lezen

Name

Stichting Lezen

Legal name

Stichting Lezen

Website

https://lezen.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Literacy and Reading Promotion Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Literature & Book Clubs / Guided Reading Groups (EDAMAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

K–12 Remedial Reading & Literacy Intervention (EDANAJAA), Early Readers & Phonics (Learn-to-Read) (EDAGAIAB)

Keywords

• Reading promotion programs
• Literary education
• Youth literacy initiatives
• Reading research
• Professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government funding (BIS): Primary funding comes from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Ministerie van OCW) through the Basis Infrastructuur (BIS) arrangement, which allows Stichting Lezen to continue nourishing and steering reading promotion efforts.
2. Publication and event revenue: Revenue generated from magazine subscriptions (Tijdschrift Lezen), congress tickets (Lezen Centraal), and seminar fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Stichting Lezen is the Dutch national knowledge and expertise center for reading promotion and literary education. Established in 1988, the foundation develops and coordinates programs, research, training, and events to improve reading skills and foster a literate society across the Netherlands. Its work targets children, youth, and adults through partnerships with libraries, schools, childcare centers, vocational institutions, and government bodies.

Product overview

Stichting Lezen is a foundation serving as the national knowledge and expertise center for reading promotion and literary education in the Netherlands. The organization operates a portfolio of interconnected programs rather than a single unified product. The core offerings include: BoekStart (0-4 years) and De Bibliotheek op school (4+ education) as structural reading promotion programs; campaign programs like De Nationale Voorleeswedstrijd, De Jonge Jury, and De Weddenschap for competitive reading engagement; event programs including Lezen Centraal annual congress and professional seminars like Over boeken gesproken; the Tijdschrift Lezen quarterly magazine; training programs such as Open Boek for reading coordinators; and the Kinderboekenambassadeur ambassador initiative. The Kunst van Lezen initiative coordinates BoekStart, Bibliotheek op school, and reading networks in collaboration with KB national library. Leesoffensief MBO extends reading promotion to vocational education. The organization also publishes practical guides (handreikingen) and reading calendars as supplementary resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BoekStart: Reading promotion program for children ages 0-4 years, including BoekStart for babies, BoekStart in childcare, and BoekStart coach.
• de Bibliotheek op school
• Kunst van Lezen
• De Nationale Voorleeswedstrijd
• De Jonge Jury
• Boekenweek voor Jongeren
• Lezen Centraal
• De doorgaande leeslijn
• Tijdschrift Lezen
• Leescoalitie

Products and services

• BoekStart

Quantifiable outcome

• €74 million Impulsregeling from Masterplan basisvaardigheden to expand reading programs to more schools
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and minor.

• Kennispunt MBO Taal en Rekenen (MBO Raad)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2023Partner in launching the 'Heel mbo leest!' reading offensive for secondary vocational education. Jointly published the Handreiking Leesoffensief and organized the launch congress.
• Mbo Taalacademie (ITTA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2023Partner in the 'Heel mbo leest!' reading offensive for secondary vocational education, contributing expertise in language and reading instruction.
• Nederlands LetterenfondskeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 April 2019Joint appoints the Kinderboekenambassadeur (Children's Book Ambassador) every two years, along with De Schrijverscentrale and Stichting CPNB.
• KB, nationale bibliotheekcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-development partner for BoekStart and de Bibliotheek op school programs. The KB supports these reading promotion programs as part of Kunst van Lezen initiative, financed by the Ministry of OCW.
• Provinciale Ondersteuningsinstellingen (POI's)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal support organizations that help execute reading promotion programs through regional library networks throughout the Netherlands.
• Stichting CPNBkeyGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborates on campaigns like Kinderboekenweek, De Nationale Voorleeswedstrijd, and other reading promotion initiatives. Co-produces 'De leukste kinderboekencampagnes' brochure.
• De SchrijverscentraleminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProvides author visits to schools and events as part of reading promotion activities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• BookTrust: UK reading charity that provides books and reading support to children and families, including programs analogous to BoekStart and de Bibliotheek op school; closest international model match for Stichting Lezen's children-focused reading promotion mandate.
• Reading Is Fundamental: US nonprofit focused on children's literacy, providing books and reading resources to underserved youth through schools and community partners; comparable program model targeting K-12 reading motivation and access.
• The Reading Agency: UK charity that works with libraries, schools, and publishers to promote reading enjoyment and literacy; comparable mission and intermediary-driven delivery model to Stichting Lezen.
• Reach Out and Read: US nonprofit that promotes early literacy through pediatric care providers, comparable to Stichting Lezen's BoekStart (0-4 years) early-childhood reading-promotion segment in mission and target age group.
• National Literacy Trust: UK-based independent charity working to improve literacy across the UK; operates the same combination of school programs, research, and advocacy that Stichting Lezen does, making it the most structurally comparable national literacy peer internationally.
• Stichting CPNB: Dutch collective book promotion foundation; co-organizes reading campaigns with Stichting Lezen including Kinderboekenweek, Voorleeswedstrijd, and the #ikleesthuischallenge, making it the closest direct operational peer in the Dutch reading-promotion ecosystem.
• Nederlands Letterenfonds: Dutch public fund for literary and reading-promotion activities; co-appoints the Kinderboekenambassadeur with Stichting Lezen and operates overlapping policy and program mandates in literary education.
• KB, nationale bibliotheek: The Dutch national library; co-develops the BoekStart and de Bibliotheek op school programs with Stichting Lezen under the Kunst van Lezen initiative and is the foundation's most strategic operational partner in distributing reading programs.
• Stichting Lezen & Schrijven: Dutch foundation focused on adult literacy and basic skills; operates a comparable mission-driven, government-funded model in the same country with overlapping BIS-style funding mechanisms, making it a direct peer in literacy-promotion funding and program delivery.

Broad incumbents

• IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People): International network organization promoting children's books and reading across more than 70 countries; broader and more diffuse in scope than Stichting Lezen but operates in the same children's-literature-promotion category at a global scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stichting-lezen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Stichting Lezen