Background information

As part of the Regional Programme for Circular Economy and support from Bruxelles Environment, Village Finance manages a fund that invests in Brussels companies that intend to participate in the circular economy. It does so by providing grants since 2016. Certain conditions apply and only a limited number of grants is available.

Content of measure

To support Brussels start-ups and very small businesses that want to start in the circular economy, Village Finance writes out grants of €5,000 to entrepreneurial projects in start-up or development that fall within the logic of circular economy. One of the conditions of the grant is obtaining a loan of at least €10,000. The grant helps project managers to raise the necessary seed capital for their projects.

Certain conditions apply for companies willing to make use of the grant:

• To start or develop a project as a self-employed person in main occupation.
• To start a project with registered office in the Brussels-Capital Region.
• To receive support from an established support structure (e.g.: Lokaal Economieloket, Iles, hub.brussels,...) in developing the business plan.
• Simultaneously submitting a credit application of minimum €10,000 to a financing institution.
• To start or develop a business that is an example in the circular economy field.

Use of measure

The uptake of the measure is not publicly stated.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Solo-self-employed SMEs Start-ups	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Local / regional government	Regional funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

The involvement of social partners is not known.

Views and reactions

The views of the social partners on the specific measures have not been made public. However, EO's like Unizo and UCM which are specialised in providing support and guidance to SME's are supporters of the circular economy in general.

Sources

• 14 January 2022: Beurs circulaire economie (1819.brussels)