Belgium not a good place for Entrepenuers

Nearly 70,000 new companies were established in Belgium this year, almost 10 percent more than last year, according to Unizo, a Flemish organization of self-employed and small and medium-sized enterprises on Friday.

This is the best figure for Belgium in years, but it is still quite low compared to the other euro zone countries, the organization said. The increase in the number of start-ups is highest in the Brussels region (15 percent), followed by French-speaking southern region of Wallonia (10 percent) and Dutch-speaking northern region of Flanders (8 percent), the statistics showed.

Unizo, which provides information for start-ups, said the threshold for starting a business in Belgium is still too high.Major obstacles include the social statute, securing sufficient start-up capital and bank guarantees and the uncertainty of starting one's own business, it said.

The organization said the government should help entrepreneurs by granting start-up bonuses, lowering tax burdens for companies and providing a better social statute.The organization also suggested that the authorities provide a better safety net for entrepreneurs who go bankrupt.