What Voka Open Bedrijvendag does

Voka Open Bedrijvendag is an annual open-door business event organized in Flanders and Brussels, Belgium, where companies across industries open their facilities to the public on the first Sunday of October. Founded in 1991 and now in its 36th edition (scheduled for October 4, 2026), the event is operated by the legal entity Studio Aperi Negotium under the Voka (Vlaams netwerk van ondernemingen) umbrella, the Flemish Chamber of Commerce. The 2025 edition attracted 415,000 visitors and more than 100 participating companies, generating 357 press mentions across media partners including Radio2, VRT, De Zondag, and Trends Knack.

The platform's core product is a two-format participation offering. Physical participation (Fysieke deelname) enables companies to host tours, demonstrations, tastings, and interactive experiences on the event Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM. Digital participation (Digitale deelname) provides year-round accessibility through 360-degree virtual tours, professionally produced company videos (1, 3, or 5 minutes), and influencer content hosted on the openbedrijvendag.be website. Add-on modules include influencer marketing on TikTok and Twitch, standard promotional materials, a coordinated media campaign, and an annual kick-off inspiration event. Supporting infrastructure consists of an event-management team (1-10 employees), company pages on the website, and virtual tour content.

The business model is transaction-based, generating revenue from company participation fees that vary by company size and type. Startups founded after January 2023 receive reduced rates; government and educational institutions pay rates equivalent to the smallest 1-5 employee tier. Distribution occurs primarily through the Voka member network, an online quote-request system, and direct sales outreach. The organization operates as a not-for-profit community initiative, supplemented by sponsorships from VLAIO, ING Belgium, and other partners. Customer segments span enterprises (Samsonite, Luminus, Indaver, Murprotec), SMBs (Interdal, Nougat Vital, DSS De Gelder), and startups (Neargrid Solutions), with the general public (families, students, individuals) as the visitor-side end user.

Name

Voka Open Bedrijvendag

Legal name

Studio Aperi Negotium

Website

https://openbedrijvendag.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Voka Open Bedrijvendag is an annual one-day event, founded in 1991 and operated under Voka, where companies across Flanders and Brussels open their doors to the public on the first Sunday of October, with 415,000 visitors and 100+ participating companies in 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Events

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics) (MPAGAGAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Virtual, Hybrid & Livestream Event Coordination (HSACAAAO)

Keywords

• Open company day events
• Business event organization
• B2B community engagement
• Employer branding events
• Corporate open doors

Headquarters

HQ city

Gent

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Company participation fees: Companies pay a fee to participate in Voka Open Bedrijvendag, which includes promotional materials, organizational support, and inclusion in the media campaign. Pricing varies by company size, with reduced rates for starters (companies founded after January 2023) and special rates for government/educational institutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Voka Open Bedrijvendag organizes and runs an annual one-day open-door event on the first Sunday of October where companies in Flanders and Brussels open their physical premises to the general public for tours, demonstrations, tastings, and interactive experiences. The organization also offers a year-round digital participation format with 360-degree virtual tours, professional company videos, and promotional materials, plus a coordinated media campaign supporting participating companies. The event is free for visitors; companies pay a participation fee to take part.

Product overview

Voka Open Bedrijvendag is an annual open company day event organized by Voka (Flemish employers' organization) where companies in Flanders and Brussels open their doors to the public on the first Sunday of October. The core offering includes two participation formats: physical visits (Fysieke deelname) where companies offer tours, demonstrations, and experiences from 10 AM to 5 PM; and digital participation (Digitale deelname) featuring 360° virtual tours, professional company videos (1, 3, or 5 minutes), and influencer marketing content available 365 days a year. Supporting services include promotional materials, a comprehensive media campaign (radio, TV, online), and an annual kick-off inspiration event. The platform serves as an intermediary connecting companies with visitors (estimated 415,000 visitors in 2025) rather than a traditional SaaS product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Physical participation (Fysieke deelname) Annual one-day event in which companies in Flanders and Brussels open their doors to the public, offering tours, demonstrations, tastings, and interactive experiences on the first Sunday of October from 10 AM to 5 PM.
• Digital participation (Digitale deelname) Year-round digital alternative to physical participation, featuring virtual tours, professional company videos, and 360-degree content available 365 days a year for companies that cannot physically open their doors.
• Inspiratie kick-off event Annual inspiration kick-off event for participating companies to meet the organizing team, network with other participants, and exchange ideas and tips prior to the open day.

Quantifiable outcome

• 415,000 visitors during 2025 edition
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Voka (Vlaamse Ondernemersopleidingen)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVoka is the organizing body behind Voka Open Bedrijvendag. As the Flemish Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Voka provides institutional support, network access, and branding to the event.
• VLAIOmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerVLAIO (Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship) sponsors the Voka Open Bedrijvendag event as part of their 'Sterk Ondernemen' (Strong Entrepreneurship) initiative.
• Radio2majorGTM or Marketing PartnerRadio2 is a media partner for Voka Open Bedrijvendag, providing radio coverage and promoting the event to listeners across Flanders.
• VRT (Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerVRT (Flemish Public Broadcasting) is a media partner, with VRT MAX and VRT1 channels promoting the event.
• De ZondagmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerDe Zondag newspaper is a media partner, featuring participating companies by region and distributed through Flemish bakeries.
• ING BelgiumminorGTM or Marketing PartnerING Belgium is a financial partner sponsoring the Voka Open Bedrijvendag event.
• Think PinkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThink Pink, a breast cancer awareness organization, partners with Voka Open Bedrijvendag for special initiatives.
• Trends KnackminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTrends Knack, a business magazine, is a media partner for the event.
• LijncomminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLijncom is a partner providing promotional materials and signage for the event.
• June20minorGTM or Marketing PartnerJune20 is a sponsor and partner for Voka Open Bedrijvendag.
• RTC (Regionaal Technologie Centrum)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerRTC is a partner supporting technology and innovation showcase at Voka Open Bedrijvendag.
• JDE (Jacobs Douwe Egberts)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerJDE provides coffee at the event, offering refreshments to visitors and participating companies.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Journée Découverte Entreprises (Wallonia equivalent): Walloon counterpart open-door business event organized annually in Belgium. Most direct format peer in the same country, demonstrating both the addressable adjacent market and the regional split Voka does not yet cover.
• Open Monumentendag (Flanders Heritage Day): Flemish annual open-door event where heritage sites and historic buildings open to the public. Same open-door annual-event model in the same geography, organized under different heritage-focused bodies.
• Open House Worldwide: Global network coordinating annual 'Open House' events where buildings and businesses open to the public. Same conceptual model (annual open-door community event showcasing enterprises), though focused on architecture.
• Easyfairs: Belgian-headquartered organizer of trade shows and community-facing B2B events across Europe. Most directly comparable as a Flemish-rooted event organizer monetizing company participation and visitor attendance.

Others

• MICE Belgium (Belgian Meeting Industry Association): Belgian trade body for the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions industry. Comparable as an institutional convener in the Belgian events space, though not a direct competitor for Voka's open-day format.
• Trade Show News Network / TSNN: Industry media and data source for the trade show and B2B event sector. Useful comparability as it represents the broader trade-show ecosystem in which Voka Open Bedrijvendag operates its business showcase.
• Voka member services and events: Parent organization of Voka Open Bedrijvendag, which itself runs networking events, training, and advocacy for Flemish businesses. Adjacent organizer of member-facing events that share the same audience and sponsorship pool.

Broad incumbents

• Eventbrite: Large-scale event ticketing and registration platform serving organizers of community and cultural events globally. Comparable as an enabling infrastructure for events like Voka Open Bedrijvendag, though broader in scope.

Regional players

• Visit Flanders (Toerisme Vlaanderen): Flemish government tourism body that promotes the region's offerings to domestic and international audiences. Adjacent promoter of Flemish experiences and an ecosystem partner; not a direct competitor but a comparable institutional organizer.
• Tag der offenen Tür (Germany open-door days): German annual initiative encouraging companies and institutions to open doors to the public. Same annual open-door business showcase model in a different geography; useful for international format benchmarking.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• TikToktiktok.com/@vokaopenbedrijvendag
• Facebookfacebook.com/openbedrijven

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Voka Open Bedrijvendag