The number of business start-ups increased by 4% in 2015, compared to the previous year, the Syndicat Neutre des Indépendants (SNI - the trade union representing professional and SME interests) stated on Friday in a press release. In all, the number of new businesses (start-ups) increased by 2% in Belgium. The professional sector saw the most new business, followed by commerce, the service sector, construction and the hotel and catering trade.
The SNI explains the increase in business start-ups by the improved economic climate. “There is a trend favouring starting up, particularly amongst the young and the many recent technological advances make it possible to start with next to nothing,” states Christine Mattheeuws, the President of the SNI, who is quoted in the press release. She also emphasised the reduction of employer contributions for staff from 33 to 25%.
Hugues Thibaut from Group S, specialising in the hiring costs for new start ups, notes the new employment initiative by the Belgian government that takes place as of January 1st this year. "Every employer regardless of their status will benefit from full exemption from employers’ contributions for the first hiring" he points out "and it has an unlimited duration". There will also be massive reductions in contributions for the 2nd to the 6th employees" for three years.
The new initiative is aimed to help start ups in their initial growth phase and to stimulate job creation.
The SNI bases the figures on commercial data from Roularta Business Information (which collects both national and international data).
(Source: Belga)
