Belgium

This chapter consists of sections on Introduction, Historical Overview, The Environment for Entrepreneurship and Toward the Future. Introduction, as follows:The Kingdom of Belgium covers 30,528 square kilometres, bordering France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Belgium is a multicultural, federal state, consisting of three linguistic communities (Dutch, French, and German) and three regions: (i) bilingual Brussels; (ii) Flanders, the Flemish region, and (iii) Wallonia, the Walloon region, which includes French and German speakers. While the Flemish people are Germanic, the Walloons trace their origins to Romanised Celts. Brussels (Exhibits 4.1 and 4.2) is an important business centre and the national capital, as well as capital of the European Union. The oldest citizen of Brussels, the Manneken-Pis (Exhibit 4.3) is considered to be the protector of Brussels.Belgium was the first on the continent to experience the industrial revolution (Kossman-Putto and Kossman, 1996). In 2015, it ranked number one in government entrepreneurship programmes (Kelley, Singer, and Harrington, 2016). It leads in innovation, with close cooperation between researchers and industry. Funded by the Flemish government, the Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB) focuses on translating research into agricultural, industrial and pharmaceutical applications; the result is an ecosystem with important spin-offs. Also in Flanders, the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC) focuses on nanoelectronics. In Wallonia, the state has implemented its quatre fois quatre pour entreprendre initiative; this includes creating awareness of entrepreneurship, fostering new venture creation, providing assistance to enterprises, and improving corporate governance.