What Het GielsBos does

Het GielsBos is a Belgian non-profit organization (vereniging zonder winstoogmerk / vzw) founded in 1978 and headquartered in Gierle in the Antwerpse Kempen region. It delivers residential care, day care, and supported-living services to children, adolescents, and adults with intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities, and multiple disabilities. The organization operates 38 residential houses distributed across six campus living quarters — Grasland, Klaverveld, Rozendries, Bosheuvel, Mezenhof, and Vos — with additional service locations in Beerse, Tielen, Lille, and Kasterlee. Care delivery is organized into three major care clusters and serves several hundred residents on a continuous basis.

The organization's core service offering is built around a campus-based residential model designed by architecture firm DierendonckBlancke, which was recognized by VIPA (Vlaams Infrastructuurfonds voor Persoonsgebonden Aangelegenheden) as an innovative model project for the sector and received a Flanders Architecture Award in 2024. Operational technology deployments include the Zora care robot (a commercially available humanoid companion robot), VR glasses deployed in a dedicated sensory-experience space called the Beleefoase, and a custom-built POS system developed by a volunteer for use in the on-site inclusive café. These are point tools supporting care delivery rather than a proprietary technology platform with in-house development.

Het GielsBos's revenue model combines government subsidies from VAPH (Vlaams Agentschap voor Personen met een Handicap), persoonsvolgende budgetten (PVB) allocated to individual residents, rental income from on-site facilities (bicycle rental, swimming pool, sports hall, café, shop), and event-driven revenue. The organization employs between 501 and 1,000 staff and is governed under a board chaired by Kathleen Helsen, with Pol Vanden Weygaert serving as General Director. Strategic priorities expressed in public communications focus on expanding residential capacity through the Masterplan Wonen program, deepening community integration via inclusive employment and the BUITEN-GEWOON initiative, and supporting workforce participation for residents through Special Olympics and the Inclusive Enterprise certification received in 2025.

Name

Het GielsBos

Legal name

Het GielsBos vzw

Website

https://hetgielsbos.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Het GielsBos is a Belgian non-profit providing residential, day, and supported-living care for children and adults with intellectual, physical, or multiple disabilities. Founded in 1978, it operates 38 houses across six campus quarters in Antwerpse Kempen, serving several hundred residents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability Care Services

NAICS

Continuing Care Retirement Communities (623311)

SIC

Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities (8050)

akta.pro primary industry

Single-Site CCRCs (HLADAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

General Assisted Living Facilities (HLADABAA), Independent Living Community Ancillary Services (Dining/Transportation/Wellness Programs) (HLADAAAI)

Keywords

• Disability care services
• Residential care
• Day care services
• Inclusive experiences
• Job coaching

Headquarters

HQ city

Gierle

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Residential Care Services: Het GielsBos generates revenue through providing residential care (verblijf) services to children and adults with disabilities. Clients typically access these services through government-funded personal budgets (persoonsvolgend budget) or through VAPH (Vlaams agentschap voor personen met een handicap). Services are provided 7 days a week, on weekdays, or for several days/nights.
2. Day Care and Daytime Activities: Day center services (dagcentrum) and daytime activity programs (dagopvang/dagbesteding) provide meaningful daily activities for clients. Revenue comes from personal budgets (PVB) and limited RTH-budget (RTH = rasteringshandelingen) places.
3. Adapted Bicycle Rental: The BUITEN-GEWOON bicycle rental point generates revenue through hourly rental of adapted bicycles including duofiets, funtrain, wheelchair bikes, tricycles, and tandems. Rental prices vary by time slot and day.
4. Experience and Wellness Facilities: Revenue from renting experience facilities including belevingszwembad Waterlelie (experience pool), belevingscentrum Oase (experience center), and sports hall to external visitors and organizations.
5. Arts and Crafts Shop Sales: Winkel Bie-zonder sells handmade arts and crafts created by clients in the various ateliers (wood, candles, soap, paper art, ceramics, screen printing). Products are sold directly and on order, with a mobile pop-up shop at markets.
6. Job Coaching and Guidance Services: Employment support services including job coaching to help people with disabilities integrate into the labor market sustainably and inclusively.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Het GielsBos is a non-profit care organization in Gierle, Belgium that provides residential living, day care, overnight respite stays, guidance, and job coaching for children and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. Beyond core care, it operates accessible leisure and inclusion facilities such as Café De Stroom, a dementia-friendly experience swimming pool, an adapted bicycle rental point, sensory rooms, a care farm, and an arts-and-crafts shop.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Inclusieve onderneming: An initiative where Het GielsBos helps people integrate into the labor market in a sustainable and inclusive way through workplace learning, job coaching, employment, and HR policy.
• Buitengewoon beleven

Products and services

• Verblijf en woonondersteuning (Residential Care and Housing Support) Long-term residential care for children and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities, including specialized support for clients with severe to profound intellectual disabilities and serious behavioral and emotional disorders (GES). Accessed via VAPH personal budgets.
• Dagcentrum en dagopvang (Day Care and Daytime Activities) Day center services (Dagcentrum de Drijfveer in Kasterlee) offering meaningful daily activities such as cooking, crafts, walking, bowling, horse riding, swimming, wellness, relaxation, boccia, gardening, and library services, accessed via personal budgets (PVB) and limited RTH-budget places.
• Begeleiding en jobcoaching (Guidance and Job Coaching) Ambulatory guidance and job coaching services helping people with disabilities integrate into the labor market sustainably and inclusively, including supported employment and HR-policy work.
• Gespecialiseerde zorg en ondersteuning (Specialized Care and Support) Specialized care team offering expert support for clients with complex needs, including those with severe to profound intellectual disabilities and serious behavioral and emotional disorders (GES), via dedicated facilities such as Woning Klaverveld 5.
• BUITEN-GEWOON Adapted Bicycle Rental Hourly rental of adapted bicycles including duofiets, funtrain, wheelchair bikes, tricycles, and tandems, making cycling accessible for people who cannot ride regular bikes; rates vary by weekday/weekend and public holiday.
• Belevingszwembad Waterlelie (Experience Swimming Pool and Wellness) Dementia-friendly experience swimming pool offering individual sessions, group G-swimming and G-aquagym lessons, aquatherapy, and wellness rentals for individuals and groups.
• Belevingscentrum Oase (Sensory Experience Center) Multi-sensory experience rooms with VR, the Stille Oase, and a Zora care robot, available to external visitors at hourly rates; free for Het GielsBos residents.
• Café De Stroom (Inclusive Café) Inclusive meeting place operated by clients with volunteer support, open to the public on the Gierle campus. Includes a custom POS system built to be visually clear and logical so clients who cannot read can operate the cash register independently.
• Winkel Bie-zonder (Arts and Crafts Shop) Retail shop on the Gierle campus selling handmade arts and crafts produced by clients in various ateliers, open weekdays and at mobile pop-up markets.
• Ontmoetingscentrum De Lork (Meeting Center) Meeting center with hall capacity for up to 200 persons, available for inclusive events organized by organizations or associations, provided clients are prioritized.
• Sporthal (Sports Hall Rental) Sports hall rental at hourly rates for associations, clubs, and inclusive sports activities.
• Zorgboerderij Het Grotenhout (Care Farm) Care farm on the Gierle campus providing meaningful daytime activities involving animals, gardening, and outdoor tasks for clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11 athletes won 7 medals (2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze) at Special Olympics 2022
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• G-sport VlaanderencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 June 2022G-sport Vlaanderen is the organization responsible for all sports practice and adapted movement forms for persons with disabilities in Flanders. Het GielsBos is an official rental point of G-sport Vlaanderen for adapted bicycles, making cycling accessible to all people who cannot ride a regular bicycle.
• Vlaams Zorgambassadeur (Flemish Care Ambassador)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 May 2022Candice De Windt, Flemish Care Ambassador, visited café De Stroom on the Day of Care on May 15, 2022, along with a delegation from Dag van de Zorg. They were impressed by this extraordinary initiative.
• DierendonckBlancke ArchitectencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitect firm from Gent that designed the living quarters (woonerven) in Gierle including Grasland, Klaverveld, Rozendries, Bosheuvel, and Mezenhof. The architecture has been recognized as an innovative model project by VIPA and won the architecture prize of the Province of West-Flanders. Architects from home and abroad regularly visit Het GielsBos for inspiration.
• WEB Werkt & I-Diverso and SynkrooncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWork architects that verified and certified Het GielsBos as an inclusive enterprise. They confirmed that Het GielsBos is committed to integrating people into the labor market sustainably and inclusively through workplace learning, job coaching, employment, and HR policy, contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• VAPH (Vlaams agentschap voor personen met een handicap)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlemish Agency for Persons with Disabilities is the regulatory and funding body for disability care in Flanders. Het GielsBos is a member organization and operates under VAPH's framework for providing care to persons with disabilities.
• De Lilse BergenminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNeighboring recreational area referred for customers looking for regular electric bicycles, as Het GielsBos only offers adapted bicycles for people who cannot ride regular bikes.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hft (Home Farm Trust): UK charity supporting people with learning disabilities through residential care, day services, and supported employment. Comparable in mission, multi-site residential model, and inclusive employment programs.
• 's Heeren Loo: Largest Dutch care provider for people with intellectual disabilities, offering residential housing, day activities, and supported employment across many sites. Highly comparable to Het GielsBos in target population, care-level mix, and VAPH-equivalent funding model.
• Stichting Lunet zorg: Dutch disability care provider with residential homes, day activity centers, and ambulatory support for people with intellectual disabilities. Operates under comparable Dutch disability funding frameworks and serves a similar population.
• L'Arche International: International federation of inclusive communities where people with and without intellectual disabilities share life and work. Closely comparable to Het GielsBos's inclusive campus model and café/employment integration ethos.
• Philadelphia Zorg: Major Dutch disability care organization providing supported living, day activities, and work programs for people with intellectual disabilities. Closely mirrors Het GielsBos's continuum of residential, day care, and inclusive employment.
• United Response: UK charity providing personalized residential, day, and community support for people with learning disabilities and autism. Comparable scope of services and reliance on a mix of government and charitable funding.
• Stichting Pergamijn: Dutch care provider offering housing, day activities, and labor-market participation for people with intellectual disabilities in Limburg. Comparable in its integration of residential, day, and work services on a regional basis.
• Real Life Options: UK provider of personalized support for people with learning disabilities, autism, and complex needs across housing, day, and community services. Comparable in supporting high-acuity residents and operating a multi-service model.
• Camphill Communities: International network of intentional communities for people with intellectual disabilities combining residential, therapeutic, and craft/work activities. Structurally analogous to Het GielsBos's campus-based, multi-activity model.
• Ons Tweede Thuis: Dutch care organization providing housing, day activities, and support for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Comparable in integrated service portfolio and target population, operating under Dutch long-term care funding.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Het GielsBos