Unlocking Business Opportunities in Belgium - Focus on Wallonia

GMCC in collaboration with the Embassy of Belgium and Wallonia Export & Investment Agency are holding a presentation and networking event to introduce you trade and investment opportunities in Belgium and particularly looking at the Wallonia Region.   

In 2021, the North West region had reached an estimated total trade of c. £4 bn worth of goods and services, with most of the exports to Belgium being driven by Greater Manchester Region.  There are over 3K businesses across the NorthWest proactively, if which 1600 are located in GM.    

Why attend?

• British Companies could be realising an additional £4bn worth of exports to Belgium across sectors such as Chemicals, pharmaceuticals,  automotive, machinery, electronic equipment,  Intellectual property, travel, transportation,  Digital, and other business services amongst others.
• According to DBT,  there are opportunities to grow exports within renewable energy, food and drink and technology sectors.
• Belgium is UK's 8th largest exporting market and as of 2023 Q3,  UK Exports reached £25.8bn!       #
• The international trade centre estimates there is over USD$6.3bn of unrealised export potential for British companies tio Belgium in 2024.        
• Wallonia is located at the 'heart of Europe' allowing you to access a market of up to 500 million consumers within one day!
• Wallonia offers a wide range of financial aids to enable foreign companies to easily set up in the region.
• Wallonia offers overseas companies with qualified, productive and multi-lingual talent and you can access a series of financial support to reduce salary and training costs.
• Wallonia sectors of expertise:  life sciences, agri-food, engineering and new materials, transport and logistics, aeronautics and space, and environmental technologies.

Key Sector facts

Life Sciences

• 1st in EU for Pharma R&D investment per inhabitant (Belgium)
• 2d in the World for clinical trials applications and fastest clinical application procedure

Agrifood

• The largest industrial employer in the Wallonia Region
• Global leader in some of them: ingredients, healthy food, processed meals

Engineering and New materials

• Wallonia excels in expertise within materials and surfaces of the future, global forming technologies, microtechnologies and mechatronics and maintenance and reliability
• The field of mechanical engineering is vast because it includes all the competences that require mechanical work: space sector, automobile industry, mechanised industrial processes, assembly lines for drugs, household appliances, chemical industry, and more.

Transport and Logistics

• Belgium ranks 3rd in the Logistic Performance Index Global Ranking from the World Bank
• According to a study by PwC(1), Wallonia is the third most attractive region in Europe for installing an e-commerce distribution centre.
• This result confirms the strong progress of Belgium in other studies concerning e-commerce, in particular that of AT Kearney(2), in which it progressed from 24th to 7th place in one year.

(1) * PwC study commissioned by the Flemish Institute for Logistics (VIL)

(2) The 2015 Global Retail E-Commerce Index.

Aeronautics

• Wallonia is the region in Belgium with the largest number of companies working in the aeronautics industry (more than twice the number of companies located in Flanders).
• Walloon aerospace know-how is particularly apparent in the province of Luxembourg, which has a business park centred on the space sector (Galaxia) and an ESA (European Space Agency) station recognised as a centre of excellence in the fields of security and defence.

Digital

• Wallonia has a growing number of local and international companies active in innovative digital technologies , representing nearly 20% of the digital sector in Wallonia.

Environmental Technologies

• Belgium and Wallonia provide incentives for investments that favour the environment and are focused on research and development. Great opportunities for UK-Belgium collaborations.

Agenda*

9:30 a.m.      Registrations and Coffee Networking

10:00 a.m.   Welcome and health & safety remarks by GM Chamber 

10:05 a.m.    UK, North West and Greater Manchester Trade with Belgium & Exporting Opportunities, GM Chamber

10:20 a.m.    Unlocking opportunities in Belgium - Focus on Wallonia

10:50 a.m.     Q&A Panel

11:40 a.m.     Closing Remarks  

 *This may be subject to change

Who should attend?

UK traders seeking to grow their business in Belgium and the EU.  Whether you are an exporter seeking to grow your export sales, or establish a physical presence in market to strenghten your market position, or companies seeking to diversify their supply chain, this event is for you.

Costs

This event is free and open to members and non-members.  Priority will be given to Chamber Members and m Chamber's partners members.

Last Minute Cancellation & No Shows Terms & Conditions

In case you can no longer attend this event, please note you must cancel your place at least 5 working days before the event. The cancellation must be in writing and sent to international@gmchamber.co.uk indicating the event you are cancelling for and delegate(s) details. Failure to do so within this timeframe, will incurr in a cancellation/no-show admin fee as follows:

• Members: £15+VAT per delegate

• Non-Members: £20+VAT per delegate

We are aiming to reduce catering waste, for this reason we will enforce this late cancellation/no-show fee. If you book and fail to attend three or more times on free events, we reserve the right to restrict access for future events.

Disclaimer

This is a sponsored event, therefore delegates' contact details will be shared with event's partners.

Please note: There may be photographs taken at our events that will be used for marketing purposes and on our social media channels. If you do not wish to appear in any of our marketing materials or on our social media channels, please inform a member of the Chamber team at the start of the event.