King Philippe embarked on an interregional economic mission on Tuesday aimed at strengthening ties between Wallonia and Flanders.
The mission began aboard a VIP bus, where the King addressed a group of around 40 CEOs from both regions, encouraging dialogue and collaboration to generate new ideas.
His goal is to foster economic cooperation between Wallonia and Flanders, which are already each other’s largest trading partners but have struggled to pool resources effectively.
During the bus journey, the King engaged in discussions with several CEOs leading Belgium’s largest companies.
Stop in Wallonia
The delegation’s first stop in Wallonia was at Odoo, Belgium’s highest-valued company. Founded in 1999 by Fabien Pinckaers and valued at €8.6 billion as of February, Odoo specialises in open-source management software for SMEs.
Pinckaers attributed the company’s success to offering a suite of integrated applications catering to all SME needs, coupled with a simple pricing model.
Odoo has sustained annual growth rates between 50% and 60%, securing 20% of the Belgian market. Globally, it employs 7,500 people and plans to hire 3,000 staff this year and 5,000 next year.
Pinckaers dismissed concerns about artificial intelligence potentially threatening their business model, suggesting it complements their open-source approach: “AI trains on open-source programs like ours, turning our data into a goldmine.”
King Philippe was also introduced to one of Odoo’s educational modules, the Odoolabs, designed to inspire entrepreneurship among students.
The visit continued to Louvain-la-Neuve, home to IBA, a global leader in particle accelerators used in industrial and medical applications.
Originally a spin-off of UCLouvain, IBA developed a proton therapy system for precise tumour treatments. The King toured the assembly hall where these cutting-edge accelerators are tested.
IBA employs 2,300 workers worldwide, with 1,200 based in Belgium. In 2025, the company achieved €620 million in revenue and holds an order book worth €1.5 billion.
