A plea to remove the obstacles to entrepreneurship in Brussels
Setting up your own business in Belgium when you were born abroad can be a real obstacle course. In March 2023, hub.brussels joined forces with microStart, a microfinance and support institution, to make concrete recommendations to the future government to make it easier for people from immigrant backgrounds to set up their own business in Belgium.
Brussels is one of the most cosmopolitan and multicultural regions in the world. In 2023, 47% of Brussels residents were of foreign origin (from countries outside the EU). This diversity is both an asset and a challenge for the Brussels economy.
A mission for hub.brussels, which is working hard to make entrepreneurship accessible to all, by offering more support to the most vulnerable groups for whom entrepreneurship, in Brussels and abroad, is difficult to access.
Integration through entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship can be an incredible lever for social and economic emancipation, reducing unemployment and boosting the economic fabric.
With this in mind, hub.brussels and Microstart have drawn up a plea to facilitate access to entrepreneurship for foreigners, based on meticulous observation of the field.
The aim? To draw up a panorama of existing obstacles and formulate concrete recommendations to ensure an encouraging entrepreneurial climate for people from a migrant background who want to start their own business.
3 key recommendations:
1. Remove administrative barriers
By simplifying the application form for the professional card, by making the assessment criteria more objective and explicit, by offering the possibility of filling in the form in a language other than French or Dutch, at least in English, and by setting up a support service to help with the compilation of applications.
By abolishing access to the profession altogether, or replacing it with practical examinations.
2. Make information and support more accessible
By translating all official websites into English, and relocating information services to make them more accessible in the various districts and communes of Brussels. Encouraging the creation of a system of intermediaries in the various communities.
“Bringing information to the field, translating materials into English, Spanish, Ukrainian and Arabic. These are concrete, simple things that benefit thousands of people eager to take their place in society. If we remove the obstacles, these people can enrich the region and create jobs“, explains our CEO Isabelle Grippa.
3. Facilitate access to financing
Giving greater visibility to alternative financing solutions, such as microcredit, and developing structural support for organizations in the Brussels entrepreneurial ecosystem, so that they can offer specific support for migrants seeking financing. By creating dedicated financing solutions for migrants.
Measures for more inclusive entrepreneurship
This project was launched with funding from the Council of Europe Bank (CEB) and the European Union.
It operates on two fronts:
- raising awareness and better inform migrants about starting a business in Belgium, to support them throughout their journey and offer them access to microcredits offered by microStart
- bringing together partners in the Brussels entrepreneurial ecosystem to ensure that their services are better adapted to needs, thanks to a better understanding of the target audience and the pooling of tools.
In figures
- 2023: 20 information sessions organized in French, English, Spanish or with translation into Arabic or Ukrainian, attended by 487 participants and nearly 80 non-Europeans supported by microStart.
- 2024: 16 information sessions for 212 participants, in French, English, Spanish and translated into Ukrainian.
- Translation of materials and videos into 4 languages: English, Spanish, Ukrainian and Arabic.
- 45 non-Europeans have obtained funding to start their own business since the project began.
