Women at the Helm: 8 Belgian startups and scaleups thriving under female leadership

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Due to its strategic location and high-quality workforce, Belgium has become a great hub for growing startups. Brussels, in particular, has seen the birth of many thriving startups. 

However, analysis by openthebox showed that women are still struggling to compete within the Belgian tech industry. Among 300 Belgian startups, only 10 per cent are founded by women. 

To address this gap, the Belgian government has private organisations that have initiated various initiatives, grants and schemes to support women entrepreneurs. These include the Brussels Government’s Women in Business initiative and ScaleupVlaanderen, a support program for female digital entrepreneurs.

Many female entrepreneurs have succeeded in growing their businesses in Belgium. These Belgian startups founded by women are rapidly growing in 2024. 

AmphiStar

Founder(s): Sophie Roelants and Bernd Everaert

Founded: 2021

Funding: €6M

Hiring: Yes, check job opportunities here

AmphiStar is a biotech company co-founded by Sophie Roelants in 2021. As a Ghent University biotechnology graduate, Roelants has much experience with biosurfactants before starting with AmphiStar.

The startup is a spin-off of Ghent University and Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant. It focuses on producing microbial biosurfactants sourced from local agri-food industry waste. These biosurfactants can be used in home care, personal care, cosmetics, and textiles.

This April, the company announced €6M in funding from the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), Qbic III, and Flanders Future Tech Fund (FFTF). 

Citizenlab

Founder(s): Aline Muylaert, Koen Gremmelprez and Wietse Van Ransbeeck

Founded: 2015

Funding: $2.5M (€2.3M)

Hiring: Yes, check job opportunities here

Aline Muyleart co-founded Citizenlab—a civic engagement platform—with her fellow students when studying at Solvay Business School in 2015. The digital platform engages citizens in policy-making for local governments, reaching a diverse demographic beyond traditional methods.

The company has grown substantially, with more than 500 local governments collaborating on community engagement projects. The majority of its users are from Belgium, but it also has active customers from other countries like the Netherlands and the UK.

IzyCoffee

Founder(s): Bart Buyse and Larisa Buyse

Founded: 2018

Funding: €300K

Hiring: Yes, check job opportunities here

Larisa Buyse is the co-founder and product manager of IzyCoffee. Founded in 2018, the coffee chain specialises in espresso-based coffee drinks. 

By mid-2023, the team had grown to approximately 50 trained associates, including baristas, shop managers, and students from the IzyCoffee Barista Academy. Its 13 stores across Belgium currently offer speciality coffees that are usually only found in big cities.

This year, the company plans to expand further abroad, with the Netherlands, Germany, and France as its main interests.

Guud

Founder(s): Jan Deruyck and Morgane Leten

Founded: 2020

Funding: $1.7M (€1.6M)

Hiring: Yes, check job opportunities here

Motivated by Morgane Leten’s experience dealing with PCOS and a fertility expert, Guud was founded in 2021. Through personal experimentation, she discovered that lifestyle changes and specific supplements could positively impact her PCOS symptoms. 

The company offered a line of supplements made from natural ingredients without harmful additives. The products are scientifically formulated to support women’s health and menstrual cycles.

Anicells

Founder(s): Nathalie Cools

Founded: 2019

Funding: N/A

Hiring: No

Nathalie Cools founded Anicells as a spin-off company of the University of Antwerp and the Antwerp University Hospitals in 2019. It is an accelerator platform for cell therapy products.

Anicells provides support services for clinical development and access to GMP-compliant infrastructure for manufacturing cell therapy products. It has multiple sterile cell-processing cleanrooms featuring B and C classifications, including QC labs and hi-tech closed-system cell-purification devices.

DataStories

Founder(s): Guido Smits and Katya Vladislavleva

Founded: 2011

Funding: €2.2M

Hiring: No

Katya Vladislavleva is the co-founder and CEO of DataStories, a self-service prescriptive analytics software company. Founded in 2011, the startup aims to help business experts and engineers understand what matters in their data.

The platform helps you make data-driven decisions. It can be consulted in several areas, including pharmaceutical, life sciences, chemistry, and sales performance.

Over the years, DataStories has worked with top European companies like Atlas Copco, Dow, Rectical, and Averis.

Moonbird

Founder(s): Stefanie Broes and Michael Broes

Founded: 2019

Funding: €1.5M

Hiring: Yes, check job opportunities here

Moonbird is a health and well-being company co-founded by Stefanie Broes in 2019. Broes was motivated to start the company after seeing friends and family members struggling with insomnia, stress, and anxiety attacks. 

With his brother, Michael, Moonbird developed a handheld device to help people with breathing exercises and better manage stress. The company also launched an app that allows users to track and monitor their progress in breathing exercises.

Stefanie Broes also recently won a ticket to Draper University’s Hero Training Programme in Silicon Valley.

Aphea.Bio

Founder(s): Isabel Vercauteren and Steven Vandenabeele

Founded: 2017

Funding: €70M

Hiring: Yes, check job opportunities here

Alphea.Bio is a leading R&D company dedicated to developing the next generation of natural microorganism-based biological products. 

The company was co-founded by Isabel Vercauteren in 2017. She has strong expertise in plant molecular biology, technology valuation, and business development. It also has over 50 scientists and industry experts within the company’s workforce. It aims to ensure a safe and healthy food chain and offers new solutions for agriculture issues. One of its products is a biostimulant seed treatment for boosting wheat yields.

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