Many Brussels businesses pay full price for their website without knowing a regional grant could have covered a good part of it. The Prime Digitalisation exists precisely for that. Here is how it works, without administrative jargon. The figures in this article come from the official page of Bruxelles Économie et Emploi and were verified on 2 July 2026.
What the grant covers
The Brussels-Capital Region's Prime Digitalisation supports external digitalisation consulting assignments: online visibility (including building or rebuilding a website), digitising internal processes, cybersecurity. It covers 25 to 70% of eligible expenses (excluding VAT), capped at EUR 10,000 per calendar year, with a minimum intervention of EUR 500 per application. A maximum of two subsidised assignments per calendar year.
Mind the nuance that matters: the grant applies to the eligible expenses of the assignment, not automatically to your whole invoice. The assignment must be a defined, one-off objective carried out by an external provider: not permanent subcontracting.
How your rate is calculated
The rate starts from a base and climbs with cumulative increases, up to the 70% limit:
| Situation | Rate |
|---|---|
| Base (any eligible business) | 25% of eligible expenses |
| "Starter" increase | +25% (micro/small) or +20% (medium) |
| Environmental exemplarity increase | varies with recognition |
| Maximum with all increases combined | 70% and EUR 10,000 per year |
Examples given by the administration itself: a medium-sized business with no increase gets the 25% base rate; a starter micro-business reaches 50%; stacking the increases reaches the 70% ceiling. Approval, rate and amount are the administration's call: nobody can guarantee you the grant in advance, and beware of anyone who promises it.
Who is eligible
Self-employed people, very small businesses and SMEs with an operating base in the Brussels Region, in the admitted sectors (the official list of eligible NACE codes is on the Region's website). The provider carrying out the assignment must itself meet the set criteria.
The trap to avoid: signing before filing
The most important rule fits in one sentence: the application must be filed at the latest the day before the assignment starts, on the MyBEE platform. A project already under way is no longer eligible. It is the classic trap: sign the quote, start the project, discover the grant too late. Your application is properly filed once you receive the acknowledgement of receipt.
The procedure, step by step
- 1. Quote: you get a detailed quote from your provider (the cornerstone of the file).
- 2. Filing: you file the application on MyBEE, at the latest the day before the assignment starts.
- 3. Approval: the administration reviews the file and tells you the amount you are eligible for.
- 4. Project, expense claim, payment: you carry out the project, pay the invoices, return the expense claim, and the grant is paid in one instalment.
The file mistakes we see
- Starting before filing: the fatal error, the project becomes ineligible. Filing happens at the latest the day before the assignment starts.
- A vague quote: "website creation, fixed price" does not describe an assignment. The administration expects a defined objective, deliverables and itemised expenses.
- Confusing assignment and subscription: the grant targets a one-off external consulting assignment, not a permanent service or a monthly subscription.
- Counting VAT: the rates apply to expenses excluding VAT.
- Aiming for the ceiling twice: a maximum of two subsidised assignments per calendar year, and the EUR 10,000 ceiling is assessed per year.
What it changes on a real budget
Take a custom website at EUR 12,000. If your eligible expenses are accepted at that level and your rate is set at 40%, the grant refunds EUR 4,800: your real investment drops to EUR 7,200. A small starter structure at 50% goes below EUR 6,000. The budget equation changes completely; it is often the difference between postponing the project and launching it.
The questions we get asked
When does the money arrive? After the assignment: you pay the invoices, return the expense claim, and the grant is paid in one instalment. So plan the cash flow for the full project; the grant reimburses, it does not advance.
What if the file is refused? Approval is the administration's call. That is why filing must precede any irreversible commitment: as long as the answer is not in, you remain free. A refusal does not prevent refiling for another assignment.
I am not in Brussels, what exists? The other Regions have their own digitalisation support schemes, with different rules. Check with your Region before starting the project; the prior-filing principle is often the same.
Does the grant cover maintenance or hosting? No: it targets the digitalisation assignment itself. Recurring costs remain yours.
What we do for our clients
We help you prepare the file: a quote structured the way the administration expects it (assignment, deliverables, itemised expenses) and a reminder of the right filing moment. The rest (approval, rate, amount) belongs to the Region, and that is how it should be.
Check your eligibility with us, or review our packages first. And to place the grant in your overall budget, read how much a website costs in Belgium.