What Open Knowledge Belgium does

Open Knowledge Belgium (legal entity: Open Knowledge Belgium VZW / asbl) is a Brussels-headquartered non-profit organization founded in February 2012 as the official Belgian chapter of the Open Knowledge Foundation. The organization operates as a grass-roots, volunteer-driven umbrella coordinating a portfolio of open-knowledge initiatives across Belgium, including the Open Belgium annual conference, the Open Summer of Code student program, Civic Lab Brussels (biweekly civic-tech meetups), OpenStreetMap Belgium, the Bike Data Project (open cycling data platform), Open Recognition Belgium (open badges initiative), the We Open Data consulting working group, and clustered entities such as Creative Commons Belgium, Open Transport (iRail), and Open Education (SchoolKid).

The organization's underlying technology stack is built on open-source principles rather than proprietary software. Its most notable technical contribution is The DataTank, an open-source platform that transforms datasets into HTTP APIs, enabling governments and organizations to publish and share open data programmatically. The organization itself does not expose a public API directly; instead, it provides infrastructure advocacy, GitHub repositories, and consulting services to Belgian federal, regional, and local government bodies via the We Open Data working group.

Open Knowledge Belgium's business model is non-commercial and community-driven. The only direct, publicly disclosed revenue stream is a €5 annual membership fee open to individuals who wish to participate in governance; observation and participation in events are otherwise free. Operating capital is supplemented by grants, partnerships, in-kind contributions (office space at BeCentral, Brussels Central Station), and project-based work. The organization employs a small paid staff (1–10, including a general manager) supplemented by a broader volunteer network, and is governed by a membership-elected board with strategic direction set at general assembly meetings.

Name

Open Knowledge Belgium

Legal name

Open Knowledge Belgium VZW / asbl

Website

https://openknowledge.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Open Knowledge Belgium is a Brussels-based non-profit and the official Belgian chapter of the Open Knowledge Foundation, coordinating a volunteer-driven portfolio of open-knowledge and open-data initiatives — including conferences, student coding programs, civic-tech meetups, and consulting — for Belgian governments, developers, researchers, and citizens.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Open Data Advocacy and Civic Tech Community

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

OER Authoring, Remixing & Publishing Tools/Platforms (EDAGAJAM)

Keywords

• Open data advocacy
• Open knowledge community
• Civic technology programs
• Open source collaboration
• Open data platforms

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Annual membership fee of 5€ for official members who can shape and vote on the direction of the non-profit organization

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Open Knowledge Belgium is a grassroots non-profit organization that promotes open knowledge and open data in Belgium through a portfolio of community-driven initiatives. It runs conferences (Open Belgium), training programs (Open Summer of Code), community meetups (Civic Lab Brussels), open-data platforms (Bike Data Project, The DataTank), and recognition programs (Open Recognition Belgium), supported by a network of volunteer working groups operating under the Open Knowledge International chapter.

Product overview

Open Knowledge Belgium is an umbrella non-profit organization (vzw/asbl) that serves as the local chapter of Open Knowledge International. Rather than offering a unified software product, the organization facilitates a portfolio of open knowledge initiatives including: Open Belgium (an annual community-driven conference), Open summer of code (a student summer programme for open innovation projects), Open Recognition Belgium (using Open Badges for skills recognition), Civic Lab Brussels (biweekly civic tech meetups), and the Bike Data Project (an open cycling data platform). These activities promote openness through advocacy, research, technology projects, and community events, enabling people to use and share knowledge.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Open Summer of Code: Intense summer programme giving young students with development, communication, design and business skills a summer job with real challenges, transforming open innovation projects into powerful real-world services
• Open Belgium
• Open Recognition Belgium
• Civic Lab Brussels
• Bike Data Project
• We Open Data

Products and services

• Open Belgium Annual community-driven conference about Open Knowledge and Open Data in Belgium for IT experts, local authorities, open-data hackers, researchers, and private companies.
• Open Summer of Code (osoc) Intensive summer programme offering students development, communication, design, and business skills a paid summer job turning open-innovation projects into real-world services.
• Open Recognition Belgium Initiative using Open Badges as a tool for recognizing the talents, skills, and aspirations of individuals to advance social inclusion, employability, and mobility.
• Civic Lab Brussels Biweekly meetup for civic innovators creating open societal solutions through science and technology, also known as public-interest tech and civic tech.
• Bike Data Project Open bike data platform for and by cyclists that aggregates cycling data from different applications into one open-source, open-data platform.
• The DataTank Open-source software that transforms datasets into HTTP APIs, enabling organizations to publish and share open data programmatically for integration and interoperability.

Quantifiable outcome

• 7500+ combined social media followers across Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Creative Commons BelgiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative Commons Belgium clusters with and is sited under Open Knowledge Belgium organization. CC Belgium constitutes a new workgroup within OKFN Belgium, pursuing common goals of promotion and education concerning 'the power of open'.
• iRail (Open Transport Working Group)coreStrategic or Co-development PartneriRail vzw/asbl leads the Open Transport working group at Open Knowledge Belgium, focusing on open transport data, standardization, user interfaces, and community building.
• SchoolKid (Open Education Working Group)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchoolKid vzw/asbl leads the Open Education working group, focused on opening educational data and resources.
• Apps for X Working GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking group led by Lieven Janssen that supports people organizing Apps For X events (Apps for Ghent, Apps for Antwerp, Apps for Flanders, etc.) bringing together developers, students, and policymakers.
• OntoforceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBelgian startup that developed semantic search engine disQover; supports schoolKID working group on Open Education. Raised €1 million from LRM, SOFI and iMinds.
• TruvominorGTM or Marketing PartnerTruvo (provider of Yellow Pages/Gouden Gids in Belgium) engaged in open data discussions with OKFN Belgium regarding potential data sharing and collaboration.
• BeCentralminorOthersDigital campus at Brussels Central Station where Open Knowledge Belgium has its office space.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Open Knowledge Foundation (now Open Knowledge): The international parent and namesake organization that Open Knowledge Belgium is officially chaptered under. Both pursue open data and open knowledge advocacy, share brand, and collaborate on cross-border initiatives.
• Creative Commons: Global open licensing advocacy organization whose Belgian chapter (Creative Commons Belgium) is clustered under Open Knowledge Belgium. Both share a mission of unlocking knowledge through permissive licensing.
• Wikimedia Belgium: Belgian chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation, collaborating with Open Knowledge Belgium on Civic Lab Brussels. Both operate as chapter-based non-profits promoting open knowledge in Belgium.
• OpenStreetMap Belgium: Belgian community for open mapping data, operating as a working group under Open Knowledge Belgium. Both share grassroots open data missions and overlapping volunteer communities in Belgium.
• Open Data Institute: UK-based non-profit focused on building an open data culture and infrastructure. Highly comparable mission and operating model to Open Knowledge Belgium, though UK-focused.
• Code for America: US non-profit building civic technology and open data infrastructure for governments. Comparable civic-tech and open data advocacy mission to Open Knowledge Belgium's work with Belgian public sector.

Broad incumbents

• Mozilla Foundation: Larger non-profit advocating for an open and healthy internet. Shares open source and open web values with Open Knowledge Belgium, but operates at a much larger global scale.
• Electronic Frontier Foundation: Larger US-based non-profit defending civil liberties in the digital world, including open access and open knowledge. Comparable advocacy posture but broader remit and substantially larger scale.
• Wikimedia Foundation: Global non-profit supporting Wikipedia and open knowledge projects. Shares open knowledge mission with Open Knowledge Belgium and works with them indirectly via Wikimedia Belgium.
• Open Source Initiative: Global advocacy organization promoting open source software. Overlaps with Open Knowledge Belgium's open source technology projects like The DataTank and broader open knowledge mission.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/openknowledgebe
• GitHubgithub.com/openknowledgebe
• Facebookfacebook.com/OpenKnowledgeBE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/open-knowledge-belgium

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Knowledge Belgium