Brussels – Overview of the regional consultancy subsidies mechanism

Improving, reorienting or transforming the activity of an undertaking is a task that can be complex and require varied skills that cannot always be brought together internally. Mobilizing external actors (consultants, accountants, lawyers, marketers, etc.) can quickly become necessary to support the efforts undertaken.

In this respect, Brussels based companies and entrepreneurs can benefit from substantial aid in the deployment of their efforts using the consultancy subsidies mechanism organized by Brussels Economy.

Who are the beneficiaries?

The beneficiaries of the subsidies are SMEs, i.e. companies (or freelancers/self-employed) that:

- occupy less than 250 employees;

- have an annual turnover of less than 50 million euros;

- have a total balance sheet not exceeding 43 million euros;

- have its headquarters or its place of business in the Brussels-Capital Region.

Although the scheme is limited to specific fields, there are many eligible candidates since the sectors of construction, transports, ICT, liberal arts and service providers in the broad sense can benefit from the measure.

For which projects and which services?

The tasks entrusted to the consultant may concern several types of consultancy services such as governance but also legal advice (no litigation though). However, the subsidies do not encompass external consultancy assignments which:

1) constitute a permanent or recurring activity of the beneficiary;

2) relate to the beneficiary's normal operating expenses;

3) are provided on a regular basis by subcontracting;

4) relate to assignments for which the company has sufficient in-house skills;

5) last more than six months.

Finally, the service provider carrying out the mission must:

- provide the relevant consultancy services as its principal activity;

- be specialized in the subsidized field;

- have been carrying out consultancy activities for at least 2 years;

- be independent of the beneficiary;

- have never carried out a subsidized consultancy mission for the beneficiary during the last two years.

Amount of the subsidies

The amount of the subsidy can vary from 40% to 60% of the amount of the consultancy mission according to different criteria related to the beneficiary’s business.

Its maximum amount equates to €10,000 per calendar year, encompassing up to 5 subsidized missions with a minimum intervention of €500 per mission.

Finally, the grant application, to which Brussels Economy must respond to within 15 days of its filing, must be submitted before the service is provided (https://economie-emploi.brussels/prime-consultance).