Belgium has 12 cities in the top 1000 and has a vibrant startup scene that ranks 22nd within the competitive global top 30.
Belgium’s startup scene saw an increase in 2022 and jumped 1 spots from the previous year, outranking Austria.
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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Belgium is ranked within the top 30 startup ecosystems globally.
Belgium’s startup scene is best represented in Marketing & Sales, Health, and in Social & and Leisure.
2022 National Rank & Change | City | Global Rank & Change | Total Score | Quantity Score | Quality Score | Business 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 |
On our map, you can explore a total of 209 startups for Marketing & Sales.
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.
Belgium's Social & Leisure is ranked 19th in the world. Our database contains 48 for this industry.
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