There are a multitude of organizations available to help you when you decide to launch yourself as a freelancer/independent worker.
Above all, don't stay alone with your questions. These organizations will help you save time and start your activity with the best foundations.
Organizations to know
If you want to do business in Belgium, you must know Hub.info in Brussels, 1890 in Wallonia, and Vlaio in Flanders.
These organizations are the platforms that guide and inform Belgians on all questions related to entrepreneurship (creation, management, takeover…).
You can find on these websites: tools, events and free training, people who advise you and answer all your questions by phone (call 1819 (Hub.info) or 1890), by email or face to face.
They can indicate which organization could best accompany you depending on your status (employee, job seeker, other), your activity sector…
You don't know how to make a business plan, you don't know how to set your selling price, questions about your financial plan? Don't stay alone with your questions, you can get help for free from experts.
If you want to do business in Brussels, you can contact Hub.info.
And here is the direct link to the search engine of all Brussels organizations that can help you.
Si vous voulez entreprendre en Wallonia, you can contact 1890.
Si vous voulez entreprendre en Flanders, you can contact Vlaio.
There is also another initiative that gives you many tools to help you do business, that organizes events and federates around it a vast community of entrepreneurs: it's Wikipreneurs.
The different support organizations for self-employment
One gets lost quite quickly in the multitude and specificity of the different support organizations for self-employment.
Job&Sense can help you see more clearly in this matter.
In Wallonia,, we speak of SAACE.
These are the structures for supporting self-employment (Saace) approved by the Walloon government to offer individual support free of charge to people who want to establish themselves as independent workers.
You will find the list of SAACE here..
You will see that SAACE can be either business incubators, activity cooperatives, or support counters. These 3 statuses are explained below.
In Brussels, we speak of Structures d’accompagnement agréées.
These are the structures approved by the Brussels government that offer individual free support to people who want to become independent.
You will find the list of Structures d’accompagnement ici.
In Flanders, you must ask the question to Vlaio.
Unizo organizes support for starters.
A support counter
A support counter helps and advises people who want to launch themselves as independent workers. It differs from an incubator or an activity cooperative because it does not offer the "real test" part of the project. The support stops when the project is launched.
In Brussels , we speak of GEL.
These are the local economy counters found in several municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region.
They support individually and free of charge people who launch themselves as independent workers.
You will find the list of GEL here.
An activity cooperative
Activity cooperatives allow the project holder to test their activity at full scale for 18 months while continuing to receive social benefits.
They support, coach, train the project holder who can use the company number of the activity cooperative. They also don't have to worry about everything concerning administration and accounting.
It's a business launch with a safety net.
You can enter an activity cooperative if you have one of the following statuses: unemployed, on social welfare, outside the job market, employee maximum part-time, on sick leave (subject to agreement from the consulting doctor), in notice period, retired or pre-retired.
The support service is free but you contribute to the functioning of the cooperative at a rate of approximately 8 to 10% (to be verified for each organization) of your gross margin (turnover minus purchases) when you are in the testing phase.
In Brussels vous avez les coopératives d’activités suivantes :
- JobYourself
- JobYourself Baticrea: for projects in construction, crafts, and green jobs sectors
In Wallonia , some SAACE are activity cooperatives like Avomarc, Step entreprendre…
In Flanders , the equivalent is Starterslabo.
A business incubator
The business incubator closely resembles the activity cooperative because it allows you to test your project at full scale for several months without your right to social benefits being withdrawn.
The status is nevertheless different because you will be under a training contract via Forem.
The business incubator also finances itself by taking a percentage of your gross margin (turnover minus purchases) which revolves around 8%.
You will find the list of Walloon business incubators here.
Incubators
An incubator is a place where start-ups gather and which offers a whole series of advantages such as coaching, infrastructure, services but also the fact of belonging to a community that helps each other.
In Brusselsyou will find the list of incubators on the website: Incubators.
In Wallonie, , you can find for example: Cap Innove or WSL.
Start-up accelerators
The start-up accelerator is a program for which the project holder must be selected. It guarantees the acceleration of business creation or its growth in the first years, over a fairly short number of months, thanks to training, consultancy, networking…
In Belgium you have for example the following accelerators:
- Startit launched by KBC
- Start.Lab.
- Coopcity: Center for social and cooperative entrepreneurship in Brussels
- IMEC.istart : accelerator for innovative technological projects
- or others, organized by universities like ICHEC or Solvay in Brussels
Business centers
Brussels
A business center is a company that supports young entrepreneurs to launch or extend their activities by offering them to share offices but also by offering a series of common services and support.
You will find the list of Brussels business centers here.
Wallonia
EBN Wallonia8 European business and innovation centers have grouped together to support the development and growth of innovative companies in Wallonia. They offer a multitude of services: stimulation of entrepreneurship and innovation, networking and partnership, accommodation, support for creation and growth.
Startup studios
The Startup studios (or business studios) create business ideas themselves and then recruit co-founders to develop them
This is an ideal option if you want to do business without starting from scratch,while being surrounded and supported.
These structures offer:
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an already tested idea
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startup funding
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a support team (marketing, tech, etc.)
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Hexa (Brussels) – Tech and impact-focused startup studio, specialized in digital solutions with high potential
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The Faktory (Liège) – Industrial and technological startup studio, focused on deeptech and hardware innovation
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Bundl (Antwerp) – Corporate startup studio, expert in business innovation for large groups
