81,107 new businesses were created in Belgium in 2014, 4.7% more than in 2013. This is only the 2nd time that the number of new businesses has risen above 80,000 in our country since 2011, notes a report by the Graydon information bureau and the UCM and Unizo organisations for middles classes. Brussels is “lagging behind” and Wallonia even more. To be more specific, 44,273 new businesses (+7.6%) were registered in Flanders in 2014, 11,205 in Brussels (+3.2%) and 21,868 in Wallonia (-0.25%). Flanders represents 54.6% of “start-ups”, Wallonia 27% and Brussels 13.8%. It is to be noted that some businesses are not registered within a specific region.
The report notes that Brussels has the highest density of start-ups: 9.3 for every 1,000 residents in 2014. “The ratio is 6.4 in Flanders, 6.1 in Wallonia. Outside Brussels it is Walloon Brabant which is the most enterprising province of the country, ahead of Antwerp and Liege. Luxemburg and Hainaut come last,” it adds. The building sector (8,496) is where the majority of new companies can be found, followed by professional services (8,120), business services (7,773) and retail (7,622).
New businesses lasting 5 years represent 69.1% of the total. “In other words, out of 77,712 start-ups in 2010, 53,677 were still active at the beginning of 2015,” pointed out the authors of the report. This ratio varies from one province to another and is far higher in Flanders than in Wallonia or Brussels.
On the basis of these figures, organisations for the middle classes ask the authorities to try even harder to promote and support entrepreneurship. “There is one start-up for every 107 people in Brussels, one for every 156 in Flanders and one for every 163 in Wallonia. This is not enough. The authorities must continue fostering, supporting and helping successful enterprises.”
(Source: Belga)
