A new management contract for hub.brussels

hub.brussels’ new management contract was officially signed on Wednesday 26 June. This document, approved by the Brussels government at the end of May, outlines the agency’s plans for the next five years. With this contract, hub.brussels intends to continue making entrepreneurship in Brussels more accessible, while placing more emphasis than ever on social and environmental innovation.

Impressive results since 2018

hub.brussels is living proof that simplification works. Since the merger of Atrium, Brussels Invest & Export and Impulse, and the creation of hub.brussels in 2018, our agency has become a key player in the Brussels business world. With agility, efficiency and simplification as our keywords, we’ve managed to increase our business volume by 26%, while keeping our operational resources the same.

A hub for inclusive entrepreneurship

hub.brussels will continue to work to make entrepreneurship accessible to everyone, whatever their background or ambitions. This work will focus on three areas to promote inclusive entrepreneurship:

• Female entrepreneurship: The aim is to achieve entrepreneurial parity. Today, the rate of female entrepreneurship in Brussels has exceeded 10%, and we’re aiming for one in every two entrepreneurs to be a woman.
• Young entrepreneurship: Encourage young people to start their own business through specific programmes and awareness-raising initiatives.
• Vulnerable people: Continue to identify the target groups who find it most difficult to turn to entrepreneurship, providing information, raising awareness and supporting them.

“By emphasising inclusiveness and accessibility, we want every citizen to be able to consider entrepreneurship as a genuine tool for emancipation and professional, personal and collective development,” explains our Deputy Director Annelore Isaac.

Capitalising on Brussels’ strengths

hub.brussels aims to stimulate the Brussels economy by building on the region’s strengths. In this context, five priority sectors have been defined for Brussels, and will be more specifically promoted and supported: the cultural and creative industries, the circular economy, digital, retail and hospitality, and urban infrastructure. The aim is to align all our services with these priorities.

Brussels, at the forefront of social and sustainable innovation

Supporting exemplary environmental and social businesses is also crucial, not only to meet European obligations by 2030, but also as a competitive advantage. We are continuing to develop self-diagnosis, awareness-raising and empowerment tools to support all Brussels businesses at every stage of their journey towards decarbonisation by 2050. Our aim is that no one is left behind in this sustainable transformation of the economy.

Brussels, the world’s second most cosmopolitan city

This diversity is an important selling point on the international stage, generating creativity and innovation and attracting foreign investors. We want to take advantage of this, firstly by capitalising on Brussels’ diaspora to strengthen our economic exchanges with the rest of the world, and secondly by increasing the attractiveness of the shopping districts by working on their cultural and historical identity, their friendliness and their dynamism.

Brussels, a strong brand

As the capital of the European Union, Brussels is an economic and diplomatic hub of global importance, and a brand in its own right. Internationalisation in the region is a crucial lever for business development, particularly in a small market like Belgium. Almost 20% of the turnover of Brussels businesses depends on their exports.

Until recently, Brussels had no genuine regional diplomacy on the international stage, unlike Flanders and Wallonia. We have revised the status of our overseas representatives to include diplomatic responsibilities. The Brussels Region now has a network of General Delegates who will strengthen Brussels’ influence in global economic diplomacy.