Belgiums Startup Ecosystem

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The Startup‘s Quickstart Guide To: Afghanistan BELGIUM Belgium

Transcript of Belgiums Startup Ecosystem

Page 1: Belgiums Startup Ecosystem

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BELGIUM

Belgium

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ABOUTHere at The Startup Monthly, we’ve come across various guides here and there about the startup communities in different countries. But, they’ve been inconsistent, and not all countries are covered.

This guide is by no means meant to be complete and all encompassing. Consider it a starting point if you’re an entrepreneur, investor or researcher.

We plan to update these guides at least annually and welcome any suggestions or additions we should consider adding to the guide. I.e. startups, investors, community resources, etc.

Please email any suggestions or questions to [email protected].

Lead Researcher: Christian Arthur Last Updated: July, 2 2016

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INTRODUCTION

(1) (2)

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INTRODUCTION

• Government: Federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy 3

• GDP(PPP): $494.1 billion (per capita $43,600)• Unemployment rate: $43,600• Inflation rate: 0.6%• Population below poverty line: 8.6%

• Main Industries: Engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, transportation equipment, scientific instruments, processed food and beverages, chemicals, base metals, textiles, glass and petroleum.

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STARTUP SCENE• “Red tape bureaucracy, two-party politics and an adverse perception

to risk taking” = structural resistance to innovation.4 Yet…

• In the past 5 years Belgium startup ecosystem has exponentially grown.• In 2014 a then record of 525 startups were founded.5

• Geographic distribution:• About 50% of startups in Flanders, Belgium’s northern (Dutch) half

• Where most of manufacturing is done.• Top cities for entrepreneurship = Gent, Antwerp, and Leuven.

• About one quarter of startups are in Bussels, the capital:• Site of NATO and EU Parliament. • Burgeoning tech scene.6

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MOST PROMISING STARTUPS

Twoo

• Dating site for pairing “young and fun-loving people.”

• Ranked 1st on startupranking.com7

• 1M Facebook follows• 50M visits to website

per month7

DataCamp

• Online courses & tutorials for statistical language “R”

• Ranked 3rd on startupranking.com7

• Raised 2.4M in VC8

BeatSwitch

• Musical event and festival mgmt. software

• EU-startups.com predicts BeatSwitchwill have successful 20168

• Raised 1.2M VC

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INVESTORS & INFLUENCERS

• Top angel investor10: Bart Becks; founded angel crowdsourcing platform “angel.me”

• Top VC10: Simon Alexandre, GM of The Faktory, seed fund/accelerator.

• Best connected people in Belgium startup scene9:• Michel Akkermans

• Investment company Pamida, ex-top man from Clear2Pay.• Luc De Vos

• Finactum, Oxynade, CarsOnTheWeb. • Jurgen Ingels

• SmartFin Capital, The Glue, ex-Clear2Pay.

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COVERAGE OF STARTUPS

• StartUps.be – A Belgium-based online magazine focusing on startups.

• The Belgian Startup Ecosystem – Thorough GitHub article

• Sirris – Omar Mohout maps the Belgian startup scene

• EU-Startups – Major site blogging about European startups

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SUMMARY

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• Despite some structural resistance, the Belgium startup scene is experiencing a time of serious growth. It’s already got a strong network of investors, accelerators, and incubators. Belgium is advantageously located in the “Blue Banana” a geographical region with some of the highest industry concentrations in the world.11 Additionally, another asset of Belgium is that the country houses the headquarters of NATO as well as the EU Parliament, putting startups close to the political heart of Europe.

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SOURCES• Background Image:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grand_Place_northwest_-_Brussels.jpg

• (1) • https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Belgium_(orthograp

hic_projection).svg

• (2)• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Belgi%C3%AB_-

_Belgique#/media/File:Be-map.png

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SOURCES• (3) • "The World Factbook: Belgium." Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence

Agency, 20 June 2016. Web. 02 July 2016. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/be.html>.

• (4)• "The Best Start-ups in Belgium - The Word Magazine." The Word Magazine, 23

Apr. 2012. Web. 02 July 2016. <http://www.thewordmagazine.com/neighbourhood-life/and-the-award-goes-to/>.

• (5) • Reback, Gedalyeh. "Beyond Terrorism in Belgium: Here's Their Booming Tech

Scene." GeekTime. N.p., 24 Nov. 2015. Web. 02 July 2016. <http://www.geektime.com/2015/11/24/beyond-terrorism-in-belgium-heres-their-booming-tech-scene-infographic/>.

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SOURCES

• (6)• Raghib, Shamma. "Brussels Is A Buzzing Hub Of Entrepreneurship |

StartUs Magazine." StartUs Magazine. N.p., 11 Aug. 2015. Web. 02 July 2016. <http://magazine.startus.cc/brussels-is-also-a-buzzing-hub-of-entrepreneurship/>.

• (7)• "Top - Belgium." Startup Ranking. N.p., 2 July 2016. Web. 2 July 2016.

<http://www.startupranking.com/top/belgium>.• (8)• Ohr, Thomas. "6 Belgian Startups to Look out for in 2016." EUStartups.

N.p., 25 Jan. 2016. Web. 02 July 2016. <http://www.eu-startups.com/2016/01/6-belgian-startups-to-look-out-for-in-2016/>.

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SOURCES

• (9)• StartUp New. "The Belgian Startup Scene: Who's Pulling the

Strings?"Startups.be. N.p., 11 Apr. 2016. Web. 2 July 2016. <http://startups.be/content/belgian-startup-scene-whos-pulling-strings>.

• (10)• Startup News. "20 Top Investors Are Looking for the 50 Best Belgian Startups to

Invest In!" Homepage. N.p., 26 June 2016. Web. 02 July 2016. <http://startups.be/content/20-top-investors-are-looking-50-best-belgian-startups-invest>.

• (11)• Mohout, Omar. "Belgium's 10 Most Innovative Startups You Ought to

Know."GeekTime. N.p., 26 Nov. 2015. Web. 03 July 2016. <http://www.geektime.com/2015/11/26/belgiums-10-most-innovative-startups-you-ought-to-know/>.

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