The Startup Ecosystem of Belgium

Belgium has 12 cities in the top 1000 and has a vibrant startup scene that ranks 22nd within the competitive global top 30.

COUNTRY RANKING

Belgium’s startup scene saw an increase in 2022 and jumped 1 spots from the previous year, outranking Austria.

Population

11.6
Million

Regional Ranking

11th
0
In Western Europe

Global Ranking

22nd
+
1
Worldwide

Ecosystem

Startup Ecosystem Overview

green trees and brown and white concrete building during daytime
In 2020, Belgium joined the unicorn club with Collibra, a data intelligence platform. This major milestone for the ecosystem opened the way to other success stories, such as Odoo and Deliverect. Belgium, from its capital of Brussels, is the nerve center of the EU, creating an advantage for local startups that are close to major regional initiatives. While the country does not yet have a Startup Visa, it did set up an attractive Immigrant Entrepreneur Program which allows foreigners to invest in or set up a business in Belgium.
Helping the growing Belgian startup community is the country’s largest accelerator, Start it @KBC, which offers startups the support they need to scale internationally. Thanks to the country’s geography, which hosts most of the EU institutions, as well as Europe’s second largest maritime port in Antwerp, startups in Belgium are well positioned to expand into European and international markets. In fact, the country is a gateway to 500M consumers, and according to the WTO, Belgium is the 10th largest exporting country in the world. Despite the country’s small market size, its position and openness to the world make it a perfect test ground for new ideas.
While Brussels is the country’s entrepreneurial center, cities such as Ghent and Antwerp are attracting more recognition, partly due to the active involvement of the cities’ governments.
Belgium is preparing the digital transformation of its public and private sectors in the coming years. Together with Microsoft, the Belgian government announced the Digital AmBEtion, an investment plan that aims to have a positive impact on the economy and the startup landscape of the country.

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ECOSYSTEM

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Ecosystem

The Startup Ecosystem in Belgium

Our startup ecosystem map for Belgium includes a sample of 523 tech companies. We have identified as unicorns 4 startups that have passed the USD 1 billion valuations. Contributing to the vitality of this startup ecosystem are the 1 pantheon member entities.

Global Rank

Belgium is ranked within the top 30 startup ecosystems globally.

Top Industries

Belgium’s startup scene is best represented in Marketing & Sales, Health, and in Social & and Leisure.

Top Cities for Startups in Belgium - Ranked by StartupBlink
StartupBlink ranks the startup ecosystems of 100 countries and 1,000 cities. Download our latest Global Startup Ecosystem Report.
Rows:
2022 National Rank & Change ▲
Access subscores for 1000 cities and 100 countries
2022 National Rank & Change City
search leaderboards icon
Global Rank & ChangeTotal ScoreQuantity ScoreQuality ScoreBusiness Score
1st
0
59th
+
13
10.534
00.00
00.00
00.00
2nd
0
149th
+
9
5.160
00.00
00.00
00.00
3rd
0
255th
-
18
2.902
00.00
00.00
00.00
4th
0
327th
-
16
1.678
00.00
00.00
00.00
5th
new
384th
new
1.302
00.00
00.00
00.00
6th
-
1
406th
-
16
1.159
00.00
00.00
00.00
7th
new
553rd
new
0.587
00.00
00.00
00.00
8th
+
1
590th
+
257
0.518
00.00
00.00
00.00
9th
-
3
598th
-
55
0.507
00.00
00.00
00.00
10th
-
2
773rd
-
72
0.296
00.00
00.00
00.00
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Startups

Notable Startups in Belgium
GuardSquare startup icon
GuardSquare
Teamleader startup icon
Teamleader
Itsme startup icon
Itsme

Startups

Successful Marketing & Sales startups in Belgium
Sortlist startup icon
Sortlist
CHILI publish startup icon
CHILI publish
Verbolia startup icon
Verbolia

Startups

Startups Ranking by Industry

Marketing & Sales icon
Marketing & Sales
#17 worldwide

On our map, you can explore a total of 209 startups for Marketing & Sales.

Health icon
Health
#19 worldwide

In Western Europe, Belgium's Health is in top 19. Belgium has a concentration of about 79 of the region's total Health startups that are represented on our map.

Social & Leisure icon
Social & Leisure
#19 worldwide

Belgium's Social & Leisure is ranked 19th in the world. Our database contains 48 for this industry.

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