Merve Karaman works as a Digital Economy Strategist at the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, where she operates at the intersection of economic strategy, digitalisation and industrial transition. She studied at Radboud University and has built her career shaping policy from inside the system — translating complex economic and technological challenges into strategic and actionable government direction.
She is co-author of the Wennink Report — the Dutch response to the Draghi Report, presented in December 2025. The report outlines why the Netherlands must invest now to safeguard future prosperity, focusing on four strategic domains: Digitalisation & AI, Life Sciences & Biotechnology, Security & Resilience, and Energy & Climate Technology — the backbone of the great transitions of this century. More than a competitiveness agenda, it is about strengthening societal resilience: the capacity to innovate, recover, and deliver prosperity for current and future generations.
Merve is currently acting team leader within the Taskforce Future Prosperity and Business Climate, a taskforce established to coordinate and implement the recommendations of the Wennink Report. She brings to this panel what few can: the view from inside the policy machine that sets the conditions for transition — and a sharp understanding of where those conditions still fall short.
The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area faces decisions that cannot be postponed. On energy, housing, labour markets and industrial transformation, the window for action is narrowing. What does it actually take to move faster — and what stands in the way?
This panel brings together leaders who are working on these transitions from inside the system — not as critics, but as people responsible for making them happen. Merve brings the national policy perspective: what do the conditions for transition actually look like when you are designing them from within the ministry, and where do they still fall short?
The conversation is built around the young professionals in the room — the generation that will live with the outcomes of the choices being made right now.
Your ticket gives you full-day access to all sessions, workshops and networking.
Ilknur Dönmez
Erich Schuster