#393 Erkenningsnummer P708816
august 19, 2015 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ read more at www.flanderstoday.eu current affairs \ p2
politics \ p4
Crisis hits Belgium
More temporary accommodation has opened up for the 4,000 migrants expected to apply for asylum in Belgium this month, a number not seen since 1951 \4
BUSiNESS \ p6
Swing it
A young Flemish entrepreneur (and his mum) are making swings for disabled kids after months of very special research \7
innovation \ p7
education \ p9
art & living \ p10
Is he or isn’t he?
Did you know that the Manneken Pis in the centre of Brussels isn’t the original? Hold on to your hat – many think the one tucked away in a museum isn’t the original, either \9
Sharing is caring
© Richard Hammond for Greentraveller/Courtesy Tapazz
Flanders is slowly warming up to the idea of a sharing economy Ian Mundell follow Ian on Twitter \ @IanMundell
While the idea of sharing economy may still sound like a novelty to most, a host of companies and initiatives built around sharing everything from cars to gardening tools have popped up across Flanders. Despite some legal hurdles, local entrepreneurs are counting on patience and word-of-mouth to pay off.
T
he sharing economy has arrived in Flanders and the rest of Belgium, even if most people don’t know about it yet. Awareness and levels of participation are low, according to a survey published in July, but the idea of sharing appeals to people, which leaves local companies in this innovative area of business feeling optimistic. “I talk to a lot of people about our concept and about other concepts, and mostly I hear good things back,” says Sebastiaan Schillebeeckx, founder of campsite platform Campr. “There are a lot of new Belgian companies starting in this
sector, and I think the future here is good.” Maarten Kooiman, co-founder of car-sharing site Tapazz, agrees. “Everywhere there is idle capacity, or where there are big organisations doing things that people can do collectively, there is the potential for new systems that can deliver the same or better services at a lower price.” The sharing economy is about finding unused resources and making them available to people who would like to use them. This saves money, reduces environmental impact and builds social connections. For example, rather than buying gardening or DIY tools you can borrow them from a neighbour through the Peerby website, a Dutch initiative that now operates in Belgium. The service is free, so it saves you money, and you can meet people in your neighbourhood who share your interests. Lenders have the satisfaction of seeing their tools put to use rather than laying idle, and the planet is spared the burden
of making more ladders and lawn mowers. Not all sharing economy initiatives are this pure, though. Many involve paying to “share”, with both the lender and the intermediary company taking a cut. This does not cancel out the benefits, but it does change the relationship between lender and borrower. Yet if the economic balance is right, everyone benefits, and it is possible for whole new businesses to emerge. Hence the excitement about Airbnb, which connects people with empty rooms or apartments with travellers looking for somewhere to stay, and alternative taxi service Uber, which (though technically illegal in Brussels, where it continues to operate) allows drivers with time on their hands to pick up people looking to get from A to B. The success of these companies also explains the protests from professional taxi drivers and hoteliers who see Uber and Airbnb using casual labour to compete in their markets, continued on page 5