The Startup Ecosystem of Belgium

Belgium has 10 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 remains stable in 2023 on the 22nd position, despite losing 1 city in the global top 1000.

Population

11.6
Million

Regional Ranking

11th
0
In Western Europe

Global Ranking

22nd
0
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 Health, Software and Data, and in Energy & and Environment.

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:
2023 National Rank & Change ▲
Access subscores for 1000 cities and 100 countries
2023 National Rank & Change City
search leaderboards icon
Global Rank & ChangeTotal ScoreQuantity ScoreQuality ScoreBusiness Score
1st
0
72nd
-
13
8.730
00.00
00.00
00.00
2nd
0
131st
+
18
5.355
00.00
00.00
00.00
3rd
0
241st
+
14
2.046
00.00
00.00
00.00
4th
0
289th
+
38
1.437
00.00
00.00
00.00
5th
+
1
447th
-
41
0.667
00.00
00.00
00.00
6th
-
1
551st
-
167
0.416
00.00
00.00
00.00
7th
0
562nd
-
9
0.399
00.00
00.00
00.00
8th
0
564th
+
26
0.395
00.00
00.00
00.00
9th
0
629th
-
31
0.327
00.00
00.00
00.00
10th
0
862nd
-
89
0.167
00.00
00.00
00.00
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Startups

Notable Startups in Belgium
Itsme startup icon
Itsme
UnifiedPost startup icon
UnifiedPost
Showpad startup icon
Showpad

Startups

Successful Health startups in Belgium
Univercells startup icon
Univercells
Novadip Biosciences startup icon
Novadip Biosciences
Imcyse startup icon
Imcyse

Startups

Startups Ranking by Industry

Health icon
Health
#14 worldwide

On our map, you can explore a total of 209 startups for Health.

Software and Data icon
Software and Data
#18 worldwide

In Western Europe, Belgium's Software and Data is in top 18. Belgium has a concentration of about 79 of the region's total Software and Data startups that are represented on our map.

Energy & Environment icon
Energy & Environment
#24 worldwide

Belgium's Energy & Environment is ranked 24th in the world. Our database contains 48 for this industry.

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