Financing of the Business Clusters

Wallonia financially supports the operational units of the business clusters.

1. Acknowledgement and acknowledgement renewal files

The grant awarded to clusters under the decree of 18 January 2007, amended in 2024, depends on the category in which the cluster is classified.

The first category is made up of clusters with fewer than one hundred member companies.

The second category is made up of clusters with at least one hundred member companies.

The subsidy is established on a four-yearly basis and is degressive.

The costs eligible for subsidy are set by the Government and capped at €180,000 per year for the first category and €270,000 for the second category.

The eligible costs used as a basis for calculating the subsidy are the structural and organisational costs directly linked to the establishment, day-to-day running and development of the cluster, excluding costs financed by other public subsidy programmes (regional, national or Community).

The grant represents a percentage of these costs determined as follows:

  1. for the first three years, 90% of the costs;
  2. for the following three years, 75% of the costs;
  3. for the following years, 60% of the costs.

To benefit from the renewal of the grant at the end of a four-year period, the cluster will have to update the diagnosis, the contract of objectives with performance indicators to be achieved, and the operational programme of activities during the renewal period (see acknowledgement renewal file).

For more details, see article 3 § 1 of the decree of 18 January 2007 amended in 2024.

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