STARTUPS.BE

Their core work

Startups.be is a Brussels-based startup ecosystem organization that connects early-stage companies with resources, networks, and growth opportunities across Europe. They specialize in building support infrastructure for startups and young SMEs — helping them access finance, talent, and international markets. Their EU project work focuses on cross-border capacity building, particularly bridging Western and Central-Eastern European startup ecosystems, and channeling startups toward sustainable energy and digital innovation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Startups.be's early H2020 work (2015-2016) centered on entrepreneurship culture — specifically learning from failure and building collaborative networks through the LIFE project they coordinated. By 2018-2019, their focus shifted decisively toward concrete ecosystem services: access to finance, talent pipelines, procurement support, and cross-border scaling for startups. The trajectory moves from soft entrepreneurship support toward structured, scalable ecosystem infrastructure with a pan-European geographic ambition.

Startups.be is moving toward structured ecosystem services (finance access, procurement, talent) with a strong CEE-to-Western-Europe bridge role — expect future projects focused on cross-border startup market entry.

How they like to work

With 33 unique partners across 20 countries from just 3 projects, Startups.be operates as a network hub — they bring large, geographically diverse consortia together rather than working in tight specialist teams. They coordinated one project (LIFE) and participated in two others, suggesting they can lead but are equally comfortable as an ecosystem partner. Their value in a consortium is connectivity: they bring startup community access and cross-border reach rather than deep technical capability.

Remarkably broad network for a small organization: 33 unique partners across 20 countries from only 3 projects. This reflects their role as a pan-European ecosystem connector with particularly strong links between Western Europe and Central-Eastern Europe.

What sets them apart

Startups.be occupies a niche as a startup community gateway in Brussels — the EU policy capital — giving them proximity to both European institutions and the Belgian tech ecosystem. Their unusual strength is bridging CEE and Western European startup scenes, a gap most ecosystem organizations don't address. For consortium builders, they offer instant access to a wide startup network and the ability to recruit SME participants for pilot programs or innovation actions.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MY-GATEWAY
  Directly addresses the CEE-to-pan-European startup growth gap with concrete ecosystem services (finance, talent, procurement, scaling).
• LIFE
  Coordinated by Startups.be — focused on the under-explored topic of learning from entrepreneurial failure as a network-wide resource.
• START2ACT
  Shows cross-sector reach: connecting the startup ecosystem to sustainable energy, their largest single EC contribution (EUR 152,750).