A good business plan will consider exporting from the outset. Why limit yourself to one market when there are so many others on your doorstep? The UK is no longer part of the EU, but Europe remains an important market for the UK. How easy is it to access the EU now? What help is available, and how can a start-up access that support?
Contrary to some reports, the EU recognises how important the UK continues to be as a trading partner. To illustrate how valued that relationship is, my role at Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT) is to maintain the historically strong links between the UK and Flanders. We want to help, it’s as important to our economy as it is to the UK’s, so we work hard to make trade as frictionless as possible.
The key challenge, post Brexit, for UK’s smaller and start-up companies is the need to navigate multiple national authorities within the EU to ensure that the new post-Brexit regulations are met. Of course, the new rules are the same across the EU. However, the additional bureaucratic burden of filling out multiple different declarations for each country you want to export to, is considerable. To solve this issue many companies have decided to use a single point of entry. It’s a strategy we highly recommend as, once inside the EU, you can trade as easily as before Brexit. Of course, this also helps with accessing EU suppliers.
Flanders, the northern region of Belgium, has become the preferred option for this single point of entry (it is already home to 1,700 European HQs). Since Brexit we’ve seen a rapidly increasing number of UK businesses set up bases here. However, for some businesses, setting up a base might not be an effective solution. Smaller businesses or those with lower levels of exports to the EU, partnering with an organisation already established in the EU, is a more viable option.
Why Flanders? Flanders is very close to the UK (less than 90 kilometers) and has many other geographical advantages. It is in the middle of Europe’s major business centres including Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and the Ruhr Valley. The region has long been recognised globally as a centre for international trade. The world-famous seaports of Antwerp-Bruges, Ghent and Ostend are all in Flanders and we have three international airports and sophisticated transport hubs, including over 650 European distribution centers. Our transport network is closely connected with the rest of Europe. A market of 400 million consumers is within 6-hours of the region or 60% of Europe’s purchasing power.
On top of that, Flanders has a unique location for startups. Of the 5 super startups hubs in Europe (London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris and Stockholm) Flanders is right in the middle of 4 of them with easy traveling access. Leaving your office in the morning at 9am, having lunch in Paris, London or Amsterdam at 12pm with a partner, having a coffee at 3pm with a customer and back home at 6pm, is the normal way of doing business in a fast and cost-effective way.
However, it is not just geography and transport links that makes the region so attractive to UK companies. There are other, cultural and financial reasons why Flanders makes sense. Start up and smaller companies find Flanders easy to deal with due to its compact business networks and the fact that almost everyone you deal with is highly proficient in English (and other languages). Flanders created one of the world’s most performant clustered ecosystems with easy access to university research and knowledge via world famous R&D centres such as Imec (nanotech, semicon) and VIB (biotech) and their top accelerator programs such as Imec-istart and biotope. Prime rent is one of the lowest in Western Europe and supply chain costs are competitive and affordable. Our corporation tax rates are similar to the UK’s for SMEs and you won’t pay business rates.
Flanders also offers a wealth of opportunities for those who are looking for R+D partners and tax incentives. So strong is the link with the UK in this field that almost all (over 90%) of the Covid-19 vaccines given to UK residents were manufactured here. As one of the 5 European Innovation Leaders, Flanders was ranked third in Europe for innovative SMEs collaborating with others in the 2022 European Innovation Scoreboard. The Flanders government offers Research and Development (R&D) tax incentives and an R&D-friendly tax system that allows businesses to recover part of their investments in innovation. Businesses in industries as diverse as food production to health tech to sustainable energy are flourishing in Flanders’ innovation-friendly economy. Flanders spends 3.6% of its GDP to R&D, worldwide only Israel and South-Korea are doing better.
Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT) is an official government organisation with a team of international experts in trade and commerce. Our advice is free. We support UK businesses who trade in Flanders, whether it’s exporting to the region, setting up a new base here or finding a partner. Our help is often in the form of introductions to the right people, or it can be offering practical solutions and opportunities, through tools such as the Brexit impact scan you’ll find on our website, which provides businesses with a calculation of customs duties and additional costs for customs declarations.
Our team of investment advisors can introduce you to potential partners and suppliers to help you explore the options. Our contacts include banks, regulators, real estate agents and other businesses that can help you. We also provide legal advice and support for setting up a business in Flanders. Do get in touch!
Uma Rajagopal has been managing the posting of content for multiple platforms since 2021, including Global Banking & Finance Review, Asset Digest, Biz Dispatch, Blockchain Tribune, Business Express, Brands Journal, Companies Digest, Economy Standard, Entrepreneur Tribune, Finance Digest, Fintech Herald, Global Islamic Finance Magazine, International Releases, Online World News, Luxury Adviser, Palmbay Herald, Startup Observer, Technology Dispatch, Trading Herald, and Wealth Tribune. Her role ensures that content is published accurately and efficiently across these diverse publications.