€40m Boost Opens New Doors for Cultural and Creative Businesses in Belgium

Cultural and creative industries have faced successive crises since 2020, alongside technological disruption that is changing how creative work is produced, distributed and sold.

Cultural and creative businesses in Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region could gain access to up to €40 million in financing after the European Investment Fund (EIF) renewed ST'ART's access to the European Union's InvestEU guarantee mechanism. The agreement gives the investment fund greater capacity to support businesses whose work depends on ideas, talent and intellectual property, opening financing opportunities for entrepreneurs who can struggle to secure conventional bank lending despite the economic and cultural value of what they create.

Giving Creative Businesses More Room to Grow

For a creative business, securing a loan can become complicated when its most valuable assets cannot easily serve as collateral. Intangible assets, limited market size and unpredictable demand can make lenders reluctant to commit, with the shortage of financial intermediaries familiar with the sector adding another obstacle. The InvestEU portfolio guarantee addresses these financing barriers by supporting ST'ART's lending to cultural and creative businesses, giving the fund more flexibility to back projects that need an understanding of how these industries operate.

ST'ART's president, Jean Leblon, and chief executive, Virginie Civrais, describe the guarantee mechanism as an essential part of the fund's business lending strategy because it allows faster investment decisions, greater risk-taking and lower rates for businesses. They say previous guarantees have already driven an unprecedented increase in the fund's activity, with the new agreement expected to extend that momentum across a creative economy shaped by constant change and innovation. For businesses seeking support, those conditions could make a meaningful difference to the affordability and availability of financing.

Supporting Recovery and New Creative Careers

Cultural and creative industries have faced successive crises since 2020, alongside technological disruption that is changing how creative work is produced, distributed and sold. The renewed guarantee supports the sector's recovery and development, including opportunities for new creative professions. ST'ART focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises and has maintained its investment pace through loans, equity investments and other support initiatives, working with businesses from their startup phase through later stages of growth and development. The €40 million financing capacity announced under this agreement strengthens that wider support role.

Elisabeth Degryse, Minister-President of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, welcomed the partnership as a way to support dozens of innovative cultural and creative projects, linking the announcement to the government's commitment to pursue increased European funding for local stakeholders. Jessica Larsson, head of the European Commission Representation in France, emphasised the practical role of the EU guarantee in improving access to finance and supporting creative businesses at different stages of their growth, connecting European backing with the needs of entrepreneurs building and expanding their activities.

A Sector With Economic and Cultural Weight

The scale of Europe's cultural and creative industries helps explain the importance of widening their financing options: in 2019, the sector generated estimated revenues of €643 billion and added value of €253 billion, with turnover equivalent to 4.4% of EU GDP. The press release places its economic contribution above telecommunications, high technology, pharmaceuticals and the automotive industry. Belgian figures cited in the release put creative industries' contribution at more than 3% of national GDP, supporting tens of thousands of jobs and demonstrating how closely creative activity connects with employment and business development.

Piotr Stolowski, the EIF's Director and Head of Guarantees, Securitisation and Inclusive Finance, connected the expanded agreement with Europe's economic vitality, social cohesion and cultural diversity. His comments underline the broader significance of the partnership: financing creative businesses supports livelihoods and commercial opportunities, as well as the ideas and cultural expression those businesses bring into society. ST'ART's renewed access to the guarantee gives that support a concrete financial foundation in Wallonia and Brussels.