NEARSHORE FOR THE NETHERLANDS

Nearshore software development for Dutch companies

Q: What is the difference between nearshore and offshore for a Dutch company?

Nearshore means your own team works from a nearby country with roughly the same time zone and work culture, such as Moldova. Offshore is a distant country with a large time difference, such as India or Southeast Asia. For a Dutch company, nearshore gives almost complete working-day overlap, short travel time and a European way of collaborating, which makes day-to-day coordination easier.

Q: How large and mature is the IT sector in Moldova?

The sector is compact and revolves around Moldova IT Park: 2,725 resident companies and around 26,000 employees within the park, together generating roughly $1 billion in revenue, all figures for 2025 (source: MoldPres, Feb 2026). As of mid-2026, the park counted companies from 46 countries (source: Invest Moldova Investor Guide 2026, June 2026). The park runs a flat 7% tax on revenue, guaranteed through 2035.

Q: How much time difference and travel is there between the Netherlands and Moldova?

Moldova is one hour ahead of the Netherlands year-round, so working days overlap almost entirely. Moldova is within 3 hours' flight from Amsterdam. That makes an on-site visit easy to plan, and day-to-day collaboration runs without waiting until the next morning.

A dedicated team of developers in Moldova that becomes part of your own organisation: one hour ahead of the Netherlands, short travel time and Dutch direction.

Chișinău, Republic of Moldova

What is nearshore for a Dutch company?

Nearshore means your own team works from a nearby country, in roughly the same time zone, rather than far away (offshore) or locally in the Netherlands. For a Dutch company, nearshore in Moldova means a dedicated team that you direct yourself, with almost complete working-day overlap and a European work culture.

Offshore, nearshore or local: nearshore costs less than local and keeps the European time zone and work culture.
From 1 developer: you start with a single developer and grow the team when you are ready for it.
A dedicated team, not ad-hoc hires: the same developers stay and build up product knowledge.
You direct the work (sprints, priorities, culture); we handle recruitment, office, HR and the day-to-day running in Moldova.
This is called an Extended Team®: the team becomes part of your organisation, not an external agency.

What about travel time and time zone from the Netherlands?

Moldova is one hour ahead of the Netherlands year-round and Chișinău is within 3 hours' flight from Amsterdam, with several direct flights a week.

1 hour

Ahead of the Netherlands year-round, with almost complete overlap of the working day

< 3 hours

Flight from Amsterdam to Chișinău, comparable to a flight within Europe

2014

Since then developers travel visa free to the EU for short visits

What language do you work in and how does communication run?

The collaboration runs in English, standups, code reviews and documentation included, so day-to-day coordination with your Dutch team runs smoothly.

English is the working language

In every regular meeting: standups, sprint planning, refinement and code reviews.

Strong proficiency in Chișinău

EF EPI 2025 rates Chișinău 'High', where the IT sector sits; 'Moderate' nationally.

Direct lines

Direct communication with your own people, no intermediary or account manager as a relay.

Dutch direction stays in the lead

You set the tone, priorities and what 'done' means (the definition of done).

How does the collaboration work in terms of culture and ways of working?

Moldovan developers are used to working with European teams: agile working, code reviews and sprint planning are normal there. The team steps into your way of working rather than running its own track.

One team: developers work in your tools, boards and processes.
We steer on retention and stability, so product knowledge stays in the team.

What our partners say

Real experiences from our partners

Bas

Product Manager at Blue10

“We are really happy with the way the Backstage IT developers have integrated into our team. They bring strong skills and the right mindset to help us move forward.”

Contract Management
SaaS

Axel

CEO at What’s Next

“We didn’t want outsourcing. We wanted developers who truly felt part of our company. Backstage IT helped us build exactly that.”

AI Software
Extended Dev Team

Q&A

Frequently asked questions about nearshore for the Netherlands

What is the difference between nearshore and offshore for a Dutch company?

Nearshore means your own team works from a nearby country with roughly the same time zone and work culture, such as Moldova. Offshore is a distant country with a large time difference, such as India or Southeast Asia. For a Dutch company, nearshore gives almost complete working-day overlap, short travel time and a European way of collaborating, which makes day-to-day coordination easier.

How large and mature is the IT sector in Moldova?

The sector is compact and revolves around Moldova IT Park: 2,725 resident companies and around 26,000 employees within the park, together generating roughly $1 billion in revenue, all figures for 2025 (source: MoldPres, Feb 2026). As of mid-2026, the park counted companies from 46 countries (source: Invest Moldova Investor Guide 2026, June 2026). The park runs a flat 7% tax on revenue, guaranteed through 2035.

How much time difference and travel is there between the Netherlands and Moldova?

Moldova is one hour ahead of the Netherlands year-round, so working days overlap almost entirely. Moldova is within 3 hours' flight from Amsterdam. That makes an on-site visit easy to plan, and day-to-day collaboration runs without waiting until the next morning.

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