More than three centuries of Brussels entrepreneurship

 

Did you know that Beci doesn't exist - at least, not as a legal entity? But that its origins go back more than 300 years? To find out more about its roots and history, we invite you to hop into our time machine.

Beci is the umbrella organisation for two non-profit organisations: the Brussels Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIB) and the Union of Enterprises in Brussels (UEB). Two independent associations that share the same identity and common means.

 

A Chamber of Commerce for Brussels

Originally, chambers of commerce were associations freely formed by merchants and entrepreneurs to pursue common goals: defending their collective interests, organising trade and professions, etc. The oldest was created in 1599 in Marseille.

Gradually, these structures replaced the guilds of the Ancien Régime and became the driving force behind economic development. Today, there are more than 12,000 chambers of commerce throughout the world, operating at all levels: local, regional, national, European and international. Together, they form the world's largest and most powerful network of business organisations.

The Brussels Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIB) was founded in 1703. To mark its 300th anniversary, the CCIB has published a commemorative brochure tracing its origins and history, which you can download here in PDF format (FR & NL). It's packed with information and anecdotes. Read it and you'll learn, for example:

  • Why the Brussels Chamber of Commerce was founded... in Ypres;
  • What role King Philip V of Spain and Napoleon played in its history;
  • How and why the Chamber of Commerce came to supplant the Drapery Court of Brussels;
  • How and why it was dissolved in 1795, re-established in 1802, abolished in 1875 and immediately re-established a few months later;
  • Why it is the Chamber of Commerce that has been issuing export certificates of origin since 1935;

 

A voice for Brussels businesses

Let's take a trip back 268 years to 4 March 1971, when 36 companies (including Kredietbank, Générale de Banque, the Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery, Delhaize, Fabricom, Solvay and UCB founded the Union of Enterprises in Brussels (UEB). It was also the year of the first reform of the Belgian State, and this was obviously no coincidence: the aim of the UEB (immediately recognised by its Flemish and Walloon peers, the VEV and the UWE) was to represent Brussels businesses at the level of the new regional socio-economic structures - in this case, the Brussels Agglomeration, the future Brussels-Capital Region.

In this capacity, the UEB exercises a number of mandates and sits on various regional bodies, including the Brussels Economic and Social Council - a role it still performs five decades later.

 

Beci: a logical alliance

The common interests of the CCIB and the UEB soon led to dialogue between the two organisations. In 2000, a symbolically important step was taken when they met at the same address.

Six years later, in 2006, the CCIB and UEB took the step of forging structural links with the signing of a collaboration agreement. They pooled their resources and divided up their roles: the UEB would represent employers, while the CCIB would provide services to businesses. The following year, they adopted a common name: Brussels Enterprises Commerce and Industry (Beci). A single identity to embrace all aspects of economic life in Brussels.