{"id":31031,"date":"2026-07-08T11:59:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T09:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trends-business-information.be\/uncategorized\/the-dynamism-of-entrepreneurs-is-not-slowing-down-but"},"modified":"2026-07-08T11:59:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T09:59:56","slug":"the-dynamism-of-entrepreneurs-is-not-slowing-down-but","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trends-business-information.be\/en\/blog-en-2\/the-dynamism-of-entrepreneurs-is-not-slowing-down-but","title":{"rendered":"The dynamism of entrepreneurs is not slowing down, but \u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The dynamism of entrepreneurs is not slowing down, but \u2026<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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We have just passed the halfway point of the year, which gives us an opportunity to assess the country\u2019s capacity to create new businesses and, more importantly, keep them running. <\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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New businesses<\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The first observation is that the willingness to start businesses is not faltering in Belgium. Although the figures are not yet final, 69,021 new businesses were created<\/strong> in the first half of the year. This is a respectable figure, sitting between the 72,421 recorded in 2024 and the 67,781 recorded in 2025. <\/p>

However, differences in trends are emerging between the regions.<\/p>

In Brussels<\/strong>, we can speak of stability<\/strong>, with 9,164 new incorporations. This is slightly better than the 8,803 in 2025 and just below the 9,277 in 2024. <\/p>

A wave of dynamism <\/strong>is emerging in Wallonia<\/strong>: 18,281 new incorporations, compared with 15,603 in 2025 and 14,908 in 2024. This represents growth of 17.16% in one year<\/strong> and 22.62% compared with 2024. As a result, Wallonia\u2019s share of national new business creation has risen from 20.57% in 2024 to 23.02% in 2025 and now to 26.65%. <\/p>

In the Flemish Region<\/strong>, by contrast, a slowdown <\/strong>is emerging: 36,550 new incorporations, compared with 39,034 in 2025 and 40,053 in 2024. This brings the Flemish share down<\/strong> from 57.59% in 2025 to 52.95% in 2026. That is well below the 57.28% share of active entities that the region currently represents in the national total. <\/p>

Also noteworthy is the sharp negative trend<\/strong> in the creation of foreign companies<\/strong> in Belgium. There were only 2,638 in this first half-year, compared with 3,056 in 2025 and, above all, 7,217 in 2024. This confirms that our attractiveness is eroding significantly, which is not a good sign. <\/p>

At sector level, the declining appeal of the major traditional sectors is confirmed.<\/p>

Construction is struggling. In the residential and non-residential construction sector, 1,340 new entities were created, compared with 1,569 in 2025 and 1,769 in 2024. Specialised construction activities are following the same trend, albeit less sharply: 5,228 in 2026, 5,374 in 2025 and 5,764 in 2024. <\/p>

The slowdown is also visible in land transport, with 1,264 new entities compared with 1,307 in 2025; scientific and technical activities, with 1,522 compared with 1,659 in 2025; artistic activities, with 1,338 compared with 1,571 in 2025; and, for the first time in a long while, activities related to human health, with 5,360 compared with 5,930 in 2025. <\/p>

More broadly, the figures for manufacturing continue to erode inexorably: 1,889 compared with 2,001 in 2025 and 2,161 in 2024. The same movement can be seen in trade: 6,310 compared with 6,556 in 2025 and 7,196 in 2024. <\/p>

One sector stands out as a slight winner: administrative and support services, with 5,018 new incorporations compared with 5,004 in 2025 and 4,857 in 2024.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Cessations<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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As regards business closures, the upward trend observed in recent years is confirmed. While 61,663 companies ceased their activities in the first half of 2024 and 63,292 did so in 2025, this figure has risen to 72,664<\/b> in 2026. The figures remain stable among legal entities, with 21,440 this year, but increase sharply among self-employed workers: 51,224, compared with 42,865 in 2025 and 40,379 in 2024. The large-scale retirement of the baby-boomer generation continues to have an impact. <\/p>

This is mainly the case in the Walloon Region, with 14,511 cases, or 29.90% more than in 2025. In the Flemish Region, the increase is \u201conly\u201d 12.80% (28,916 cases), and in Brussels 10.63% (4,692). <\/p>

All sectors are affected, but the sharp increase in retail trade is particularly noteworthy: the sector lost 8,790 businesses, compared with 7,054 in 2025, an increase of 24.61%. Land transport is also affected, with 1,345 units (+22.20%), as is industry, with 2,625 cases (+18.35%). <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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For the first time in a long time, the number of businesses in Belgium is declining <\/b>on a net basis. The economic fabric still grew by 10,818 businesses in the first half of 2024 and by 4,489 in 2025, but is now shrinking <\/b>by 3,643<\/b> businesses. While Brussels still records slight net growth (+449), the Walloon Region loses 628 businesses and the Flemish Region 3,187. <\/p>

Above all, our economy continues to shift towards the tertiary sector, to the detriment of the secondary sector.<\/p>

To sum up<\/strong>, in Belgium, many businesses are being created to tell you how to do things, but fewer and fewer are being created to actually do them. And those that do are slowly disappearing. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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As regards bankruptcies, the figures have increased <\/strong>only slightly compared with the high level recorded in 2025: 6,168 cases compared with 6,133 in 2025. Brussels remains stable, with 1,085 rulings. Wallonia <\/strong>recorded a solid decrease of more than 7%<\/strong>, with 1,329 cases compared with 4,128 in 2025. Unfortunately, these figures are offset in the Flemish Region<\/strong>, with 3,744<\/strong> cases compared with 3,616 in 2025. <\/p>

The construction sector alone accounts for 1,353 bankruptcies, but this is better than the 1,494 recorded in 2025. Land transport, on the other hand, increased to 323 cases, compared with 283 in 2025. That is an increase of almost 15%. The human health sector, which has grown strongly in recent years, saw bankruptcies rise from 60 in 2025 to 78 this year. <\/p>

Industry stabilised at 267 cases, compared with 263 in 2025, but with sharp differences between subsectors. The manufacture of metal products increased from 55 in 2025 to 68 in 2026, and the food industry also rose from 55 to 68. By contrast, the manufacture of electrical equipment fell from 11 cases in 2025 to 5 this year. <\/p>

The restaurant sector no longer exceeds the threshold of 1,000 rulings, with 986 cases this year.<\/p>

We will probably pass the mark of 12,000 bankruptcies<\/strong> this year. The figure may seem enormous, but <\/strong>given the more than 1,550,000 active businesses in the country, the failure rate <\/strong>remains at a reasonable 0.77%<\/strong>. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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2025 in a few concrete figures<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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It is still a little early to truly assess how companies experienced the year 2025. To date, only 272,000 annual accounts for 2025 have been published. Around 580,000 are expected. It is therefore too early to draw conclusions. However, a small minority, around 36,000 companies, close their accounts in September. Thanks to them, we can form an idea of what that year was like, since three quarters of their financial year fell in 2025. <\/p>

Overall, we observe a slight deterioration in the ratios of this population.<\/p>

Median operating cash flow, or REBITDA, for example, fell from \u20ac36,190 to \u20ac35,812. This is a net decrease of 1%. But taking into account inflation of around 3% over the period, the deterioration is significant. <\/p>

The same observation applies to median net cash flow. It fell from \u20ac36,184 to \u20ac35,807. As a reminder<\/b>, cash flow determines the capacity to invest or to repay existing loans. Its erosion therefore compromises that capacity and weakens the resilience of our economic fabric. <\/p>

On the other hand, if we look at the number of companies in difficulty, we may perhaps take some comfort from the fact that the proportion of companies with negative equity fell from 11.18% to 11.06%, that those with negative REBITDA decreased from 17.71% to 17.64%, and that those with negative net cash flow fell from 17.75% to 17.50%.<\/p>

But this is only slight consolation, because the absolute figures remain high. It also means that these companies eventually disappear, without improving the situation of those that remain active. <\/p>

The conclusion is not encouraging. The economic fabric appears to be ageing, tiring and increasingly turning towards services, to the detriment of the secondary sector. Yet it is the secondary sector that creates real added value and gives the country\u2019s trade balance a chance of being positive. Services merely recycle money that has already been created. It is high time to reverse this trend. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Want more analysis and figures? <\/strong><\/p>

Would you like to read more about the Belgian economic fabricor find out more about statistics on Belgian businesses?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRead our other articles here<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tView more statistics here<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Entrepreneurship The dynamism of entrepreneurs is not slowing down, but \u2026 We have just passed the halfway point of the year, which gives us an opportunity to assess the country\u2019s capacity to create new businesses and, more importantly, keep them running. New businesses The first observation is that the willingness to start businesses is not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":31014,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-en-2"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trends-business-information.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trends-business-information.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trends-business-information.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trends-business-information.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trends-business-information.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31031"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trends-business-information.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31032,"href":"https:\/\/trends-business-information.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31031\/revisions\/31032"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trends-business-information.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trends-business-information.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trends-business-information.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trends-business-information.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}