What Gekkoo vzw does

Gekkoo vzw is a Belgian non-profit association (vereniging zonder winstoogmerk) headquartered at Limburgstraat 49-53 in Antwerp that organizes supervised holiday childcare and play activities for children aged 3-12 during four annual school holiday periods (krokus/Carnival, Easter, summer, autumn, plus Christmas). Its two core offerings are Speelpleinen Gekkoo, day playgrounds run at 15+ locations across Antwerp districts and Sint-Niklaas, and Kamp Gekkoo Ardennen, multi-day overnight camps in the Ardennes (formerly the Weweler-kampen). Service delivery is powered by a volunteer pipeline of more than 300 young animators (ages 15+) who are trained through certified courses delivered with Formaat vzw and VDS, supported by a small professional staff of ~21 people led by General Coordinator Aaron Goos under Chairman Karel Noppe.

Operations are run on two third-party platforms: the i-Active registration system handles parent bookings, real-time availability, and payments (with a 3-hour cart reservation), while Twizzit manages volunteer scheduling, timesheets, expense reimbursements, and event registrations. The Gekkoo Shop sells branded merchandise (hoodies, t-shirts, rain jackets, caps) ordered through Twizzit.

Gekkoo's revenue mechanics combine per-day participant registration fees (standard €11.50 full day / €6.90 half day, with social Kansentarief at €2.30 / €1.38), annual €10 per-child memberships that include accident/liability insurance, municipal service contracts under which Stad Antwerpen co-funds 40% of Speelpleinen costs, and donations/sponsorships channeled through the Gekkoo Fonds (which disbursed €111,854.47 in 2025 supporting 739 children, 33% of attendees and 44% of attendance days). Distribution is hybrid: self-service online registration via i-Active, in-person registration help at schools and Huis van het Kind locations, direct service at playground sites, and a Juvigo marketplace listing. Starting 2026, Gekkoo will discontinue its Kampbendes program and concentrate on Speelpleinen, the Ardennes camp, and the volunteer program.

Name

Gekkoo vzw

Legal name

Gekkoo vzw

Website

https://gekkoo.be

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gekkoo vzw is a Belgian non-profit that runs supervised holiday playgrounds and camps for children aged 3-12 across 15+ Antwerp and Sint-Niklaas locations, delivered by 300+ trained young volunteers under municipal co-funding and a social-tariff subsidy fund.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Holiday Leisure Services

NAICS

Recreational and Vacation Camps (except Campgrounds) (721214)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Activity Enrichment Camps (Academic + Arts + Sports) (EDAMALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Group Camping & Scout Camps (THAGAOAI)

Keywords

• Holiday childcare services
• Children's play activities
• Youth volunteer programs
• Municipal leisure partnerships
• Organized playground operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Antwerpen

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Participant Registration Fees: Families pay registration fees for children's participation in Speelpleinen (playgrounds) and Kamp Gekkoo Ardennen (camps). Pricing includes standard rates and reduced Kansentarief (social rate) for families with increased intervention rights.
2. Municipal Partnership Agreements: Gekkoo serves as a leisure partner for municipalities, providing organized holiday activities for children. Municipalities contract Gekkoo to deliver quality youth work services, reducing administrative burden on local governments.
3. Donations and Sponsorships: The Gekkoo Fonds receives donations from individuals, sponsors, and partners. Corporate sponsors may enter promotional deals or formal sponsorship agreements. Donations above €40 annually qualify for tax certificates.
4. Merchandise Sales (Gekkoo Shop): The organization sells branded merchandise including hoodies, t-shirts, rain jackets, caps, and shoelaces through the Gekkoo Shop, ordered via Twizzit and picked up at headquarters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Gekkoo vzw organizes supervised daytime play activities (Speelpleinen) for children aged 3-12 at 15+ locations across Antwerp and Sint-Niklaas during school holidays (carnival, Easter, summer, autumn), and multi-day overnight camps (Kamp Gekkoo Ardennen) in the Ardennes. Activities are delivered by trained young volunteers (ages 15+) under professional head animators, with bookings and payments handled through the i-Active online platform. Programs are supported by an in-house social fund (Gekkoo Fonds) that subsidizes participation for lower-income families and by municipal partnerships that co-fund and host locations.

Product overview

Gekkoo vzw is a youth work organization offering a comprehensive vacation activity portfolio centered around two core products: Speelpleinen Gekkoo (day playgrounds during school holidays for children aged 3-12) and Kamp Gekkoo Ardennen (multi-day camps in the Ardennes). The organization operates the i-Active registration platform for managing bookings and payments, supported by a volunteer program that trains animators through certified courses. Additional offerings include the Gekkoo Shop for branded merchandise, the Gekkoo Fonds social fund for subsidized participation, and municipality partnership services for local governments seeking to develop youth leisure offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Gekkoo Fonds: A social fund that provides financial assistance for families with children who qualify for increased intervention or social tariff rates.
• Speelpleinen Gekkoo
• Kamp Gekkoo Ardennen

Products and services

• Speelpleinen Gekkoo (Playgrounds) Supervised day playground activities during Belgian school holidays (carnival/krokus, Easter/pasen, summer/zomer, autumn/herfst) for children aged 3-12, delivered at 15+ locations across Antwerp and Sint-Niklaas by volunteer animators under professional head animators. Operating hours 8:00-18:00. Priced at €11.50/day full-day standard rate, €6.90 half-day, with reduced Kansentarief rates (€2.30 full-day, €1.38 half-day) for families with increased intervention rights.
• Kamp Gekkoo Ardennen Multi-day overnight camp experience in the Ardennes region for children aged 6+, combining outdoor play activities, themed programming, and overnight stays (formerly Weweler-kampen). Continuing from 2026 alongside Speelpleinen as one of Gekkoo's two retained core products after the Kampbende discontinuation.
• i-Active Registration Platform Self-service online platform where parents register children for Speelplein days and Kamp Gekkoo Ardennen, view real-time availability, manage reservations, and process payments. Accessible via gekkoo.i-active.be and used as the primary touchpoint for family bookings.
• Vrijwilligersprogramma (Volunteer Program) Volunteer engagement program that recruits, trains and deploys more than 300 youth (ages 15+) per year as animators at the organization's playgrounds and camps. Includes onboarding, training pathways and operational support.
• Animator Cursus (Animator Training Course) Six-day certified animator training course for youth aged 15+ delivered in collaboration with Formaat vzw (summer 2026 in Malle) and VDS Vrijetijdsdiensten (Easter 2026 at Basisschool Eureka). Provides recognized youth work certification required to serve as an animator at Gekkoo's playgrounds and camps.
• Gekkoo Shop Online and on-site merchandise store selling Gekkoo-branded apparel and accessories including hoodies, t-shirts, rain jackets, caps and shoelaces. Orders placed via Twizzit and picked up at the Antwerp headquarters.
• Gekkoo Fonds (Social Fund) Subsidy fund that receives donations, sponsorships and partner contributions and pays out financial support covering part of participation costs for families eligible for the Kansentarief social rate. Donations above €40 annually qualify for tax certificates.
• Vrijetijdspartner voor Gemeenten (Leisure Partner for Municipalities) Partnership service in which Gekkoo serves as a contracted leisure time partner for municipalities, providing expertise and operational capacity for organizing holiday playgrounds, volunteer animator training, and youth leisure services. Active partnerships with Stad Antwerpen (40% cost co-funding) and Stad Sint-Niklaas (Hazel Speelt! pilot).

Quantifiable outcome

• 739 unique children used social tariff in 2025 (33% of total attendees)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Stad AntwerpencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary municipal partner providing 40% co-funding for Speelpleinen costs. Gekkoo operates under an agreement note with Stad Antwerpen for activities in the city. The city also provides A-kaart system for social tariff identification.
• Formaat vzwcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner for animator training courses. Collaborates on summer animator courses (July 2026 in Malle) and head animator courses. Formaat provides recognized youth work certification.
• VDS (Vrijetijdsdiensten)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner for Easter animator course (April 2026 at Basisschool Eureka) providing recognized youth work certification.
• Hou 't HartminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWood recycling expert partner that brings participants into Gekkoo camps to learn woodworking skills, making birdhouses, storage boxes, and wobble boards. Supports sustainability education.
• Oscar CrewminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCamp organizer bringing two camps to Gekkoo locations in July 2025: a Build & Craft Camp (ages 5-6) at Academie Deurne and an Underwater World Camp (ages 5-6) at De Kolibrie Berchem.
• De SprinkhaanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPilot project partner for Hazel Speelt in Sint-Niklaas, combining playground operation and childcare services. First 2 weeks focus on childcare, last 2 weeks on playground operation.
• District AntwerpencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDistricts collaborate with Gekkoo on extra support for children with additional care needs. Various districts provide facilities and local support for playground locations.
• Huis van het KindminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCollaboration for registration assistance moments, helping families find suitable activities and complete enrollments at community locations.
• Various schools (Chiro Josto, Basisschool Klimoever, Basisschool De Kolibrie, etc.)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchools provide facilities for playground locations during holidays. Gekkoo uses school buildings such as Chiro Josto (Borgerhout), Basisschool Klimoever (Linkeroever), Kleuterschool De Kolibrie (Berchem Sint-Hubertus), Basisschool De Kolibrie (Berchem Markgravelei), and others.
• JuvigominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner platform for holiday activities, listed as a partner on Gekkoo's website footer.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Vakantiekiezer: Stad Antwerpen's holiday-activities portal that aggregates providers including Gekkoo; a distribution channel and aggregator peer rather than a direct operator.

Broad incumbents

• KSJ (Kristelijke Studenten Jeugd): KSJ is a Catholic Flemish youth movement running local groups, camps, and animator training for older teens; operates a parallel volunteer-youth, animator-certified model in overlapping geographies.
• KLJ (Katholieke Landelijke Jeugd): KLJ is a Flemish youth movement for ages 6-30 with local chapters, animator training, and camps; relevant comparable on volunteer-driven youth play programming and Flemish municipal footprint.
• Scouts en Gidsen Vlaanderen: Flemish scouting organization running groups, camps, and animator training for ages 6+; structural parallel to Gekkoo's volunteer-animator, multi-day camp, and Ardennes-overnight-stay activities.
• De Ambrassade: De Ambrassade is the Flemish umbrella body for youth work associations and supports animator training/play initiatives; comparable in supporting the ecosystem Gekkoo operates in.
• Chirojeugd Vlaanderen: Chiro is the largest volunteer-driven Flemish youth movement with neighborhood-based local groups using young animators; Gekkoo's playground model shares the volunteer-animator, play-education DNA but operates holiday-only rather than weekly.

Direct peers

• Juvigo: Juvigo is a Flemish holiday-activity platform that aggregates and distributes children's vacation programs, listed by Gekkoo as a partner; it operates in the same D2C holiday-childcare category with overlapping parent audiences and municipal distribution.
• De Sprinkhaan: De Sprinkhaan is a Sint-Niklaas childcare provider currently co-running the Hazel Speelt pilot with Gekkoo that combines playground and childcare services; same holiday-care segment and geography.
• Sportpret: Sportpret organizes sports-themed multi-activity holiday camps and clinics for children across Flemish municipalities, directly competing for the same parent budget and school-holiday window.

Regional players

• Het Stichting Jeugdwerk / Jantje Beton (NL): Jantje Beton is the Dutch counterpart funder/advisor for playground and youth-play initiatives; operates the equivalent municipal playground category across the border for benchmarking rather than direct competition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gekkoo-vzw

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 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 Gekkoo vzw