The business guide.

The bad news: since 12 August 2026, five Brussels grants have been suspended until the end of the year: consultancy, external training, business transfer, recruitment and coworking. The regional budget has been redirected towards investment aid.

The good news: the Digitalisation Grant is one of the grants that remain in place. It is still open today.

Two things to keep in mind:

• The ministerial order behind this suspension applies to the 2026 financial year and says nothing about the rules from 1 January 2027. Check the rules in force when you prepare your application.
• Prepare a complete file before starting the assignment. Submitting an application does not guarantee the award.

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All of the following conditions must be met.

Size. You are a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise under the European definition. Your headcount, turnover and balance sheet total determine your category. Brussels Economy and Employment (BEE) offers an online tool to check.

Location. You have at least one operating site in the Brussels-Capital Region. This is the establishment unit you will indicate in the form.

Sector. Your NACE code must be among the admitted sectors. See the next section.

Economic purpose. Your business has an economic and commercial purpose and is not funded by public authorities for more than 75%.

De minimis aid. You have not received €300,000 in de minimis aid over the past three years. The €300,000 ceiling is assessed over three rolling years at the level of the single undertaking, within the meaning of Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) 2023/2831. Enterprises connected by the control relationships set out in that text must be taken into account. Do not confuse this notion with the categories of partner and linked enterprises used to determine the size of an SME.

Annual accounts. You are up to date with filing and publication under Book III of the Code of Companies and Associations.

Diversity plan. If you have more than 50 employees, you must have a diversity plan.

1.1 Sectors: check this first

Check the NACE code of the activity concerned in the official list of admitted sectors. The general name of your sector is not enough: exclusions and exceptions, in particular for certain starter activities, depend on the exact code.

The list uses the NACE-BEL 2008 nomenclature. Also consult the official conversion table to NACE-BEL 2025 from the grant page. If in doubt, call BEE on 02 800 34 00 before preparing the file.

Do you represent a non-profit association (ASBL/VZW)? The association form does not, on its own, determine the NACE code or access to the grant. BEE states that some ASBLs and AISBLs may benefit from aid in specific cases. Check the activity concerned with the official tool, then have BEE confirm your situation for this grant.

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Three categories of assignment, and nothing else.

1. The digitalisation of your internal processes, your means of production, or your products and services. Examples: automating an order flow that is currently retyped by hand, connecting your management tool to your accounting, setting up a production tracking tool, integrating an AI solution into a business process.

2. The IT security of your business. Examples: security audit with a remediation plan, compliance, securing access and backups.

3. The technical creation or improvement of your website. The word technical matters: development, migration, performance and structure are covered. Editorial content, graphic design alone, media spend and campaign management are not.

The responsible digital charter

By applying for this grant, you undertake to respect the responsible digital principles annexed to the order. They cover, among other things, taking into account the life cycle of equipment and software, extending their lifespan, the accessibility of services including for people with disabilities, limiting data collection to what is useful in line with the GDPR, and putting in place algorithmic ethics mechanisms, particularly around artificial intelligence.

This commitment must be reflected in the project. If your project touches on AI or data, show in your description that you have thought these questions through. It strengthens the file.

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The central rule fits in one sentence: the assignment must be exceptional in nature and aim to solve a one-off problem.

Explicitly excluded are assignments that:

1. constitute a permanent or recurring activity of your business;
2. relate to your normal operating expenses;
3. are regularly carried out through subcontracting;
4. concern a problem for which you have sufficient in-house skills;
5. last more than six months.

In plain terms

The test: what precise problem is solved, and what is finished at the end? If your answer has no clear end, it is not an eligible assignment. It can often be reshaped to become one.

The in-house skills trap. If you employ a developer, a generic development assignment will be hard to justify. Target what you genuinely lack (expertise in security, architecture or AI) and say so clearly in your description.

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Your business is not the only one being assessed. The consultant is too, and a provider who does not meet the conditions leads to the refusal of the whole file.

The consultant or project manager must:

• be specialised in the field concerned;
• have carried out consultancy activities for at least two years;
• demonstrate recognised competence, supported by a list of references and practical experience;
• be independent of your business.

The provider company must:

• not have already delivered you two subsidised assignments under this scheme in the past two years;
• invoice you directly;
• count consultancy services among its main activities.

BEE may call on an external expert to assess the quality of the chosen consultant. In that case, the decision period is extended by one month.

The three questions to ask your provider before signing:

1. How long have you been carrying out consultancy work, and can you provide a detailed CV listing similar assignments?
2. Is consultancy among your main activities registered with the CBE?
3. Have you already carried out assignments for me that were subsidised by the Region in the past two years?

A derogation exists if your consultant is a natural person working through an employment cooperative.

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Base rate: 25% of eligible expenses, excluding VAT and taxes.

Increases, cumulative up to a maximum of 70%:

The ceilings:

• €10,000 maximum per business and per calendar year
• 2 digitalisation assignments maximum per calendar year
• €500 minimum grant per application

Examples

Where is the ceiling? You reach €10,000 from a €40,000 assignment at the base rate, from €20,000 at 50% and from around €14,300 at 70%. Above that, the surplus is at your expense. Splitting the project into two assignments changes nothing: the €10,000 ceiling is annual, not per assignment.

What is exemplarity? A recognition under the order of 6 July 2023. BEE offers an online “Exemplarity Guide” that tells you in a few clicks whether you qualify for the increase, and what proof to attach. If you have several Brussels establishment units, the recognition must apply either at company level or to each of those units.

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The three things to remember

1. The application is submitted BEFORE the assignment starts. No retroactive effect. If work has begun, it is lost for this assignment.

2. “Three months after notification” is a deadline, not a waiting period. Many people read it as having to wait three months. It is the opposite: once the award decision has been notified, you have at most three months to start, otherwise it lapses.

3. You may start before you have the answer. The window opens the day after submission. Nothing obliges you to wait for the decision, but if the file is refused, you pay the full amount. The choice is yours:

• Cautious option: you submit and wait for notification of the award before starting. This reduces the risk of an initial refusal, but the project is delayed. Payment remains subject to compliance with the conditions, completion of the assignment and submission of the supporting documents, and the post-award obligations still apply.
• Fast option: you submit and start the next day. The project moves forward, you bear the risk of refusal.

Discuss it with your provider and put your choice in writing before signing.

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The application is made online at MonBEE. The form saves automatically, you can come back to it later.

Saving is not submitting. Complete all four MyBEE steps: complete, check, sign and send. Then keep the automatic acknowledgement of receipt. If a third party acts on your behalf, arrange the appropriate mandate; the MyBEE account and itsme signature are personal and must not be shared.

Part 1: your business. General information (company number, date of registration with the CBE, which determines your starter status), bank details, registered office and selection of the Brussels establishment unit concerned, contact person and person legally authorised to bind the company, NACE codes and description of your activities.

Part 2: the assignment. You tick one of the three categories, describe the action, and give the start date, the end date and the cost excluding VAT. The form states that only these two dates will be taken into account in the decision. You then enter your provider’s details, followed by any increase criteria.

Part 3: documents and reminders. See the next section.

Part 4: communication. “How did you hear about the grant?”

Part 5: declarations. You declare your de minimis aid over the past three years, then sign several undertakings. Three deserve your attention:

• the expenses do not and will not receive any other aid from the Brussels-Capital Region;
• you will immediately inform the administration if you transfer or cease your activities, or leave the Region;
• you undertake, on pain of repaying the aid, to maintain an establishment unit and an economic activity in the Brussels-Capital Region for three years from the award.

That last undertaking is the one businesses discover too late. If you are considering moving to Flanders or Wallonia within two years, factor it into your decision.

Writing a good description of your action

This is the most important field in the form. A good description answers four questions:

1. What concrete problem are you facing today, quantified if possible (time lost, errors, risk)?
2. Why now? What makes this intervention exceptional and one-off?
3. Why not in-house? Which skill exactly are you missing?
4. What deliverable marks the end of the assignment?

Avoid wording that suggests recurrence: “support”, “follow-up”, “on demand”, “ongoing”. Prefer: “analysis”, “implementation”, “migration”, “audit”, “delivery of”.

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Everything in PDF. Some documents are only required in the corresponding situations: a mandate if a third party submits the application, a register extract for a foreign provider, proof of exemplarity if you apply for those increases.

Two frequent mistakes: a bank statement in the manager’s name rather than the company’s, and a lump-sum quote without an itemised breakdown. Ask your provider for the detail.

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1. You receive an automatic acknowledgement of receipt. Keep it, it is your proof of submission.

2. If your file is incomplete, BEE writes to you within 15 days. You have one month to complete it.

3. Article 19 of the Order provides for notification of the decision within four months of receipt of the application or, if the file is incomplete, of the expiry of the period allowed to provide the missing items. This period is extended by one month if BEE consults an external expert.

4. If the grant is awarded, you start the assignment within 3 months, for a maximum duration of 6 months.

5. You then send your payment request and supporting documents. If you are late, BEE sends you a reminder at the latest one month before the deadline.

6. BEE informs you of the amount, you complete a statement of claim, and the grant is paid in a single instalment.

Supporting documents: plan for 12 months. BEE and MyBEE require receipt of the payment request and the documents listed in the decision no later than 12 months after notification of the award. This period does not start at the end of the assignment. Check the deadline in your decision.

Two points not to forget:

• The grant is taxable. It is part of your company’s income and must appear in your tax return.
• A file that is awarded then abandoned uses up your annual quota. The number of assignments and the ceiling are calculated on the basis of notified decisions, and are not recalculated if the action is ultimately not carried out.

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• I am an SME with a Brussels operating site, and I have identified the right establishment unit
• My NACE code is among the admitted sectors (checked with the 2008 to 2025 conversion table)
• My annual accounts are filed
• De minimis ceiling checked for the single undertaking within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2023/2831, over three rolling years
• My assignment falls under one of the three funded categories
• The exceptional and one-off nature is clear from my description
• I do not have the skill in-house, and I explain why
• The assignment lasts at most 6 consecutive months
• My provider meets the criteria: 2 years of activity, specialisation, references, independence, consultancy as a main activity
• They have not already delivered me 2 subsidised assignments in the past 2 years
• I have not exceeded 2 digitalisation assignments or €10,000 this calendar year
• The expected grant is at least €500
• My quote is itemised line by line and still valid
• The documents that apply to me are ready in PDF, in the right format and under the size limits
• I have decided, in writing with my provider, whether I start before or after the decision
• I have read and accepted the undertaking to stay in the Region for 3 years
• The application is sent at the latest the day before the assignment starts

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Can I apply for the grant for an e-commerce site? Yes, the technical creation or improvement of the website is one of the three admitted categories. The technical side is funded, not the content or the promotion.

Can I combine it with other aid? Not with other aid from the Brussels-Capital Region for the same expenses: you declare this on your honour. And all de minimis aid received counts towards your €300,000 ceiling over three years.

Two assignments a year, does that mean €20,000? No. The €10,000 ceiling is annual and applies to all your digitalisation assignments in the calendar year combined.

Can my provider submit the application on my behalf? Yes, with a mandate signed by a person legally authorised to bind your company. It is one of the planned attachments.

How long between submission and payment? The total time depends on the assessment, the duration of the assignment and the processing of the supporting documents and the statement of claim. If the file is incomplete, BEE flags the missing items within 15 days of receipt; you then have one month from notification of that letter to complete it. This may delay the decision, without automatically adding six weeks. No fixed overall payment deadline is guaranteed.

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You do not have to prepare your file alone. Several public services support you free of charge, each at a different level: local support, information and guidance, and the administration that decides.

The Local Economy Offices (GEL / LLE). Spread across the Brussels municipalities, they support entrepreneurs free of charge in creating and developing their business, including identifying the grants you are entitled to and helping you prepare your application. Often the simplest starting point if you have never submitted a file.

hub.brussels. The Brussels Business Support Agency. It supports the development of Brussels businesses, their internationalisation and the attraction of foreign investment, with a range of free services in strategy, financing, clusters and export.

hub.info, formerly 1819. The information service of hub.brussels and the gateway to all public and private services for Brussels entrepreneurs. Its advisers provide first-line information on financing and public aid and guide you through the Brussels network. Free, in English, French or Dutch.

Contact the 1819 or visit info.hub.brussels for current contact details and opening hours.

Brussels Economy and Employment (BEE). Business Support Directorate, Place Saint-Lazare 2, 1035 Brussels, 02 800 34 00, economie-emploi.brussels. This is the administration that processes your file and decides. If in doubt about your eligibility, a call before preparing the file will save you a lot of time.

The application itself is submitted at mybee.brussels.

The reference texts: ordinance of 13 October 2023 on aid for the development and economic transition of enterprises, and order of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region of 22 February 2024 on aid for consultancy, economic transition and digitalisation.

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This guide is a summary for information purposes. It replaces neither the official texts nor the information published by Brussels Economy and Employment, which alone are authoritative. The scheme may change, in particular from 1 January 2027: always check the conditions in force at economie-emploi.brussels before submitting an application.

• Grant conditions and application procedure
• Admitted sectors, official PDF
• Order of 22 February 2024, consolidated version
• Official tool: which grants can you apply for?