Why Wallonia

A powerful ecosystem of incentives

supported by our dedicated expert team

Our mission: providing investors with tailored, proactive, and results-driven support.

Wallonia stands as a strategic location for companies looking to invest, innovate, and grow in Europe. To maximize your establishment or expansion, our dedicated team supports you at every stage by mobilizing all available investment aid and tax incentives.

With multidisciplinary expertise and a deep understanding of regional, federal, and European support mechanisms and administrative processes, we guide you through every step needed to bring your projects to life in Wallonia.

Investment aid

Wallonia provides financial support to businesses and facilitates the creation, modernisation, and expansion of infrastructures and equipment across its territory.

Thanks to its experience and expertise, our team helps you identify the support scheme that best fits your project and assists you from its conceptualization all the way through its post-implementation phase.

Support programmes available to investors in Wallonia include :

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Classic

Classic investment aid

These schemes support projects involving equipment upgrades or infrastructure expansions. The amount granted is assessed based on three criteria: the project’s economic performance, job creation, and its environmental impact or industrial eco-performance.

Co-financed

Aid co-financed by European funds

Offering more favourable rates, these programmes target SMEs active in the manufacturing sector wishing to develop innovation, digital transformation, or product circularity projects.

Green

GREEN aid

These schemes encourage investments that help reduce environmental footprint, mostly applying to projects related to sustainable energy use or environmental protection.

R&D Aid

Wallonia offers R&D grants for industrial research or experimental development projects carried out by companies that have, or plans to have, an establishment unit in Wallonia.

Our team supports you at every stage of the process: helping you understand the different programmes, identify the one that best fits your project, and prepare a comprehensive and well-structured application file. Key programmes most in demand among foreign investors in Wallonia:

Win4Company: this investment scheme helps companies finance industrial research or experimental development projects. Such projects may aim to acquire new scientific or technical knowledge, or apply existing knowledge to develop a product, process, or service – including the assembly of prototypes or production trials in a real industrial environment.
Win4Expertise: this programme enables companies, particularly SMEs, to access specialised advisory services. It notably includes strategic marketing consulting services to assess the commercial potential of a product or process, or to develop an effective commercial strategy.

FDI Tax incentives

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80%

exemption of payment of withholding tax on salary of researchers

85%

deduction from net innovation income, resulting in an effective tax rate of 3,75%

30%

Investment deductions of 30% for sustainable economy projects and of 13,5% for R&D investments

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Lifetime exemption of social security contributions for the first recruitment

Tax ruling

Legal certainty regarding your project in Wallonia

Employment and training aid

To strengthen your recruitment and workforce development, Wallonia – notably through Le Forem – provides a comprehensive set of tools to help you attract talents and develop their skills to enhance the competitiveness of your company.

Key advantages include fully tailored training-integration programmes designed to equip jobseekers with the skills your company needs, as well as financial incentives for hiring candidates from designated categories.

Building and environmental permits

Our expertise covers the full range of permits required for the establishment and operation of your activities. We streamline the process of obtaining building and environmental permits; ensuring smooth and compliant regulatory procedures for your investment project.

Work and residence permits

We assist entrepreneurs looking to launch their business in Wallonia with obtaining professional cards, and support foreign investors in securing work and residence permits for their teams. We ensure that your applications are properly prepared, maximizing approval chances while minimizing processing times.

Customs regulations and export licenses for dual-use goods

Certain activities require strict compliance with export control regulations, particularly for dual-use goods. Our specialists guide you through all mandatory requirements and work closely with the administration to ensure a straightforward and efficient licensing process.