Stichting Stedenband Haarlem-mutare

What Stichting Stedenband Haarlem-mutare does

Stichting Stedenband Haarlem-Mutare is a Dutch non-profit foundation (stichting) established in 1991-1992 that operates the city-twinning partnership between Haarlem in the Netherlands and Mutare in Zimbabwe. Its functional mission is to build sustainable social and cultural relations between Western Europe and Southern Africa through education, awareness-raising, and knowledge transfer grounded in the principles of reciprocity and equality. The organization is volunteer-run, led by a Coordinator (Dik Bol) and a Mutare-based Coordinator (Gift Sanyanga), with governance provided by a volunteer board; it holds ANBI public-benefit status, which enables tax-deductible donations, and has documented advocacy credits including Haarlem's 2018 declaration as a Global Goals Municipality.

The foundation's core products are a portfolio of educational serious games and teaching programmes distributed free of charge to schools, teachers, municipalities and community groups in both cities. Digital and board-game titles include Zimsurf (Zimbabwe life and sustainability for secondary schools), Aqua Heroes (cooperative board game on river health for upper primary and bridge classes), De Watercyclus (water-cycle board game), #YouToo (cyberbullying game), Citizenschool (migration and tolerance), and Gender Adventure; these are complemented by teaching kits such as Reis voorbij de Evenaar (eight themed kits on African childhood). Programmes such as Connect Healthy Rivers combine citizen-science water-quality monitoring on the Spaarne river with educational outreach and river clean-ups, while pan-European projects Citizen Games (2021-2022) and Games for Goals (2023 onward) co-develop serious games with universities and NGOs across at least nine European countries under Erasmus+ funding.

The revenue model is non-commercial and grant-funded. Stedenband does not charge for its programmes; it is financed by EU subsidies (primarily Erasmus+ and the Frame, Voice, Report! programme), municipal support from the Haarlem and Mutare city governments, and donations from individuals and organizations (notably Stan&Wende funding the WakaWaka solar-light distributions and WakaWaka Foundation supplying 1,000 solar lights to Chirowakamwe Primary School in Mutare). Distribution is direct-to-school, through municipal partnerships, and via a European higher-education consortium channel. The foundation markets via its website (haarlem-mutare.nl), Facebook, newsletters, and events such as EcoTrip festival, GameDidactiek conference, World Water Day activities and HMUN.

Name

Stichting Stedenband Haarlem-mutare

Legal name

Stichting Stedenband Haarlem-Mutare

Website

https://haarlem-mutare.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Stichting Stedenband Haarlem-Mutare is a Dutch volunteer-run non-profit foundation that runs the city-twinning partnership between Haarlem (Netherlands) and Mutare (Zimbabwe), delivering free educational serious games, teaching kits and citizen-science water projects to schools, teachers and municipalities on both continents, funded by EU grants, municipal support and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Global Citizenship Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Access & Quality (International Development) (BPAGABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) (BPAGABAC), International Development & Donor-Funded Education Programs (EDADALAB)

Keywords

• Global citizenship education
• Sustainability education programs
• Serious games for schools
• City twinning partnerships
• Citizen science water monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Haarlem

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Gifts: Receives donations from individuals and organizations; bank account NL 45 INGB 000 38 23 435 mentioned
2. EU Subsidies: Receives EU funding through programs such as Erasmus+ for educational projects and Frame, Voice, Report! for climate debates and sustainability initiatives
3. Municipal Support: Support and funding from Haarlem municipality, which declared itself a Global Goals Municipality in 2018 partly due to Stedenband's advocacy

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Stichting Stedenband Haarlem-Mutare develops and distributes serious games, educational programs, and teaching kits for primary and secondary schools that promote global citizenship, sustainable development, water/river health, and intercultural understanding. Programs are delivered free of charge through direct school partnerships, European university consortia, and municipal cooperation between Haarlem (Netherlands) and Mutare (Zimbabwe), supported by citizen-science water quality monitoring and community engagement activities.

Product overview

Stichting Stedenband Haarlem-Mutare is a city partnership foundation offering educational products and programmes focused on global citizenship, sustainability, and international cooperation. The core offering consists of serious games (digital and board games) and educational programmes targeting primary and secondary school education. Key products include Zimsurf (a game about Zimbabwe for secondary schools), Aqua Heroes (a cooperative board game about water conservation), #YouToo (a game about cyberbullying), Citizenschool (a game about migration), and De Watercyclus (a water cycle game). The portfolio is complemented by the educational programme Reis voorbij de Evenaar (8 themed teaching kits about Africa). Many products are developed in collaboration with European partners through Erasmus+ programmes and are made available free of charge.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Zimsurf: A serious game about Zimbabwe for secondary school students covering topics such as nature conservation, inequality, and sustainable development.
• Aqua Heroes
• Games for Goals
• Citizen Games
• Citizenschool
• #YouToo
• Reis voorbij de Evenaar (Journey Beyond the Equator)
• Connect Healthy Rivers

Products and services

• Zimsurf An educational serious game about Zimbabwe and life in Mutare for secondary school students (vmbo, havo/vwo), covering nature conservation, inequality, and sustainable development goals.
• Aqua Heroes A cooperative board game for upper primary school (groep 7-8) and secondary school bridge classes, teaching children about water conservation and river protection through gameplay.
• #YouToo An ICT-based serious game addressing cyberbullying in secondary schools, developed as part of European educational projects on citizenship.
• Citizenschool An ICT serious game addressing prejudices about migration, developed for secondary education with support from the EU's Erasmus+ programme.
• De Watercyclus (The Water Cycle Game) A board game teaching children about the water cycle and water conservation, part of the Games for Goals project.
• Reis voorbij de Evenaar (Journey Beyond the Equator) An educational programme for primary education consisting of eight themed teaching kits with extensive information about the lives of children in Africa, including supporting teaching materials.
• Connect Healthy Rivers A project to promote healthy rivers in Mutare through educational activities, clean-up campaigns, and community engagement, including citizen science water quality monitoring in collaboration with Drinkable Rivers.
• Gender Adventure An ICT-based serious game addressing gender discrimination, developed as part of European educational projects on citizenship for secondary education.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hundreds of children reached with educational water games
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Stichting TechnotrendcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 November 2024Partners on sustainable education programs including Games for Goals project. Provides sustainable didactics connecting planetary citizenship, systems thinking, and future-oriented education. Organized the Duurzame Docenten Diner series.
• Drinkable Rivers (Stichting Drinkbare Rivers)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2023Since autumn 2024, members of Stedenband joined the Citizen Science Programme of Drinkable Rivers. Together they monitor water quality of the Spaarne river, measuring parameters including nutrients, phosphate, and E. coli concentrations. The partnership includes student involvement and plans to expand monitoring to the Pungwe river in Mutare.
• Hogeschool InhollandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean partner in Games for Goals project developing educational board games for primary education. Hosted international workshop for primary school teachers from five European countries in April 2024.
• Citizen Games ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration of two NGOs from France and five higher education institutions from Belgium, Germany, Poland, Ireland, and Portugal. Developing serious games for secondary education on citizenship, migration, tolerance, and intercultural respect. Project runs from September 2019 to 2022 with Erasmus+ funding.
• Mutare River Rehabilitation Initiative (MRRI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner in Mutare coordinating river cleanup activities and water quality monitoring. Participates in World Water Day activities and coordinates with schools for educational programs on river health.
• VEI (Vereniging Nederlandse Drinkwaterbedrijven)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDutch water companies association collaborating on sustainable water management in Mutare. Part of Connect Healthy Rivers project ambitions.
• WakaWaka FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDonated 1,000 solar-powered WakaWaka lights for children at Chirowakamwe primary school in Mutare. Foundation supports sustainable lighting solutions for communities without electricity.
• Stan&WendeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSustainable investment company from Haarlem that made generous donations enabling the WakaWaka light distribution project to Mutare schools.
• Municipality of MutarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner city government collaborating on sustainable development goals, water management, education, and community engagement. Aligns municipal ambitions with Connect Healthy Rivers project.
• Debatcentrum de PletterijcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDebate and culture venue in Haarlem that co-organizes climate debates, themed evenings, and sustainability events. Key venue for Frame Voice Report program and ongoing educational activities.
• Hogeschool UtrechtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganizes the annual GameDidactiek conference. Stedenband participates in this education conference as part of knowledge sharing and networking for educational games development.
• ROC NijmegenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVocational college collaborating on sustainable games evenings for teachers and game developers. Part of the network for educational game development and teacher training.
• Platform ZimbabweminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Dutch platform bringing together private initiatives related to Zimbabwe. Annual meetings host approximately 45 people from 20 organizations for learning and experience sharing.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Drinkable Rivers (Stichting Drinkbare Rivers): Direct program partner running the citizen-science water-monitoring program that Stedenband has joined on the Spaarne river. Highly comparable as a Netherlands-based NGO combining citizen science, water education and community river cleanups.
• Stichting Leren voor Morgen: Dutch education foundation co-organizing sustainable games evenings with Stedenband. Comparable as a Netherlands-based NGO promoting sustainability education in schools through curriculum and teacher support.
• Platform Zimbabwe: Dutch platform network in which Stedenband participates; annual meetings gather ~45 people from 20 organizations focused on Zimbabwe initiatives. Comparable as a Netherlands-based coalition of organizations supporting Zimbabwe-related projects.
• WakaWaka Foundation: Donor partner that provided 1,000+ solar lights to Stedenband's partner schools in Mutare. Comparable as a mission-driven organization delivering physical sustainability products and education to communities in Africa.
• NICC Foundation (Netherlands International Cooperation Collection): Co-organizer of the 2025 'Impact of YOU(th) on Global Challenges' conference at ISS Erasmus University where Stedenband presented. Comparable Dutch NGO promoting international cooperation awareness through education and dialogue events.
• Stichting Technotrend: Core strategic partner co-developing sustainable didactics and the Duurzame Docenten Diner series. Comparable Dutch non-profit focused on sustainable/planetary citizenship education and teacher training.
• Mutare River Rehabilitation Initiative (MRRI): Mutare-based partner coordinating river cleanup and water-quality activities with Stedenband. Directly comparable as a Zimbabwean environmental NGO doing river rehabilitation and community education.

Broad incumbents

• NCDO (now Partos): Dutch umbrella/cooperative platform for development cooperation NGOs. Comparable as a larger institutional player in international development, education for global citizenship and Dutch-Zimbabwean civil society engagement.

Emerging players

• Teachers for Climate (Klimaatverbond Nederland): Co-organizer of sustainable games evenings with Stedenband and ROC Nijmegen. Comparable Dutch movement organizing teachers around climate/sustainability education with overlapping target audience of educators.

Regional players

• Wisekids Trust (Bulawayo): Zimbabwean non-profit that received WakaWaka lights via Stedenband. Comparable as a regional NGO delivering education and resources to vulnerable children in Zimbabwe, intersecting on community and education themes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/stedenband
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stichting-stedenband-haarlem-mutare

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Stedenband Haarlem-mutare