Limburg (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Limburg sees fewer start-ups in 2026. Voka and Unizo urge support. Construction declines. Entrepreneurs Dan Lenaerts and Kobe Indemans successfully launched Recommand.
As VRT News reported, Limburg is seeing fewer start-ups this year. Business groups say this is not unexpected. Economic uncertainty remains high, costs are rising, and international tensions are weighing on investments. Many entrepreneurs are delaying or reconsidering their plans. Some sectors that require less money still attract new businesses, but overall, the number of start-ups is falling.
“The figures show that entrepreneurship is alive and well, but also that margins are shrinking,”
says Ellen Olislagers of Voka – KK Limburg.
“Anyone who wants startups to not only get started but also grow needs to create a solid foundation.” “More than 8,500 startups remain a strong signal,”
says Managing Director Bart Lodewyckx.
“But the decline shows how fragile that confidence is in the current economic climate.”
What is causing Limburg start-ups to decline despite Voka and Unizo support?
The construction sector shows the sharpest decline. This industry has been stable in recent years, but now fewer new companies are starting. Officials mentioned that rising prices for materials, worker shortages, and stricter rules are making it harder to launch projects.
“It’s a cost-intensive sector, with high barriers to entry. However, the sector is one of the growth engines of our economy, so it’s not a good trend if there are no new starters there,”
says Olislagers.
“These are important sectors, but for sustainable economic growth, we also need starters with scale and export potential,”
says Unizo Limburg.
Around 22% of new businesses in the region close within the first 5 years.
“Entrepreneurship remains vulnerable, especially in an unstable economic environment,”
says Olislagers.
“Targeted guidance really makes a difference here.”
Business organisations Voka and Unizo are calling for stronger support for entrepreneurs. They want more affordable labour, simpler procedures for bringing in talent from outside Europe, and better access to public procurement contracts.
Entrepreneurs say the challenges are real and high. In 2025, Dan Lenaerts and his cofounder Kobe Indemans launched Recommand, a tech start-up based in Hasselt. The company provides digital tools.
“It is a tangle of rules and obligations, which are not always obvious for a starter.”
Daan Lenaerts, co-founder of tech company Recommand
“We spent almost five years thinking about the idea before we actually developed it,”
says Lenaerts.
“The barriers are high, especially at the European level. It’s a tangle of rules and regulations, which aren’t always easy for a newcomer.”
“We saw a clear gap and were able to fill it with our technology,”
he says.
“The guidance we received here in Limburg really helped us take that step.”
New statistics for Limburg’s startups in 2023 show changes to Limburg’s startup scene in recent years. In 2023, 8558 businesses were registered as new startups, which is lower than the 2022 numbers and reflects continued economic challenges faced by many entrepreneurs in Limburg.
The number of new businesses (1,309) increased again by 2024 and will create over 1000 jobs. The 2024 start-up numbers are getting closer to the highest number of start-ups seen in 2021, according to the analysis from Voka – KvK Limburg.
