What Maakbaar Leuven does

Maakbaar Leuven vzw is a Belgian non-profit association (vereniging zonder winstoogmerk) founded in 2023 and headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, that operates a community-based repair, reuse, and circular economy ecosystem. Its portfolio spans monthly Repair Cafés at four neighborhood locations (Maakleerplek, Heverlee, Hal 5 Kessel-Lo, Wijgmaal), a fixed Repair Hub Elektro workshop at Maakleerplek (recently expanded to Herstel Hub Elektro 2.0 with ten equipped workbenches in September 2025), the Re-Startkit student appliance rental program, the Repair Escape Game educational product, an Open Atelier self-service workspace, a Hobby Repair pilot with Kringwinkel ViTeS, an EHBO Elektro training course, a Telraam sensor repair program, and Corporate Repair Cafés delivered on-site at client companies. The organization serves general citizens, students, school children, corporate clients (Cronos, KBC), hobbyist restorers, and specialized partners such as Telraam, with the bulk of community-facing services offered free or donation-based and commercial offerings (B2B repair, Open Atelier, rentals, Escape Game) priced per transaction.

The underlying technology is operationally light: a WordPress/Elementor website integrated with Google services, Airtable-based booking for Re-Startkit and Escape Game, and the open-source Restarters.net platform for repair documentation; proprietary digital products include the Home Hub platform (appliance registration, maintenance reminders, diagnosis function) and an Online Vacuum Cleaner Diagnosis Tool using a decision tree. The business model is primarily grant-driven, with funding from VLAIO (Living Lab Herstel Eerst 2023–2025), OVAM, Vlaanderen Circulair (Fairvacuum 2024–2026), INTERREG North West Europe (E6 project, €8.15M total budget, Maakbaar allocation over €375K), WSE Europa (LLES), and Stad Leuven, supplemented by transaction-based revenue from Open Atelier (€15/session), Re-Startkit rentals (€10–50), Repair Escape Game (€8/person, €40/box minimum), and B2B repair services. Go-to-market is community- and event-led, with word-of-mouth, volunteer networks, partner referrals, and the Leuvenfixt.be digital hub driving participation; corporate clients are acquired through direct outreach and partnership channels.

Name

Maakbaar Leuven

Legal name

Maakbaar Leuven vzw

Website

https://maakbaarleuven.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Maakbaar Leuven vzw is a Belgian non-profit running community Repair Cafés, a fixed Herstel Hub Elektro workshop, student appliance rentals, and Corporate Repair Café events in Leuven, funded primarily through Flemish and EU grants with diversified transaction-based revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Repair and Circular Economy Services

NAICS

Home and Garden Equipment Repair and Maintenance (811411), Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance (8114)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Repair Services (7600)

akta.pro primary industry

Repair, Refurbishment & Remanufacturing Services (EUAIANAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Circular Economy & Sustainable Products (Reuse, Repair, Upcycling) (BPAGALAF), Small Appliance Repair & Service (CRACAJAC), Electronics Refurbishment, Repair & Reuse (Remarketing/Resale) (BPALAIAD)

Keywords

• Community repair services
• Circular economy initiatives
• Appliance refurbishment rental
• Corporate repair workshops
• Repair education training

Headquarters

HQ city

Heverlee (Leuven)

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Project Grants and Subsidies: The organization is primarily funded through project-based grants and subsidies from government bodies including VLAIO (Agentschap Innoveren & Ondernemen), Vlaanderen Circulair, OVAM, INTERREG NWE, WSE Europa, and Stad Leuven. These grants fund specific projects such as Re-Startkit, Fairvacuum, Living Lab Herstel Eerst, LLES, and INTERREG E6.
2. Open Atelier Access Fees: The Repair Hub Elektro offers an open atelier where individuals can work on their own electro projects at a flat rate per session. Sessions are available Monday 12:00–17:00 and Thursday 12:00–20:00.
3. Repair Escape Game Rental: The Repair Escape Game is rented out as six boxes (each seating 3–5 people, max 30 participants) to schools, companies, and organizations. Pricing is €8 per person with a minimum of €40 per box, plus a €50 deposit per box.
4. Re-Startkit Rental Revenue: The Re-Startkit program rents refurbished small household appliances (desk lamps, kettles, coffee machines, rice cookers, vacuum cleaners) to students for periods of 5 months, 5+1 months, or 11 months, at fixed rental prices plus a refundable deposit. Rental prices range from €10–€50 depending on device and rental period.
5. B2B Repair Services: Customized repair services and circular solutions for businesses and organizations, including maintenance and sustainable trajectories for extending device lifespan.
6. Repair Café (Free / Donation-Based): Repair Cafés operate entirely around volunteer participation and are in principle free, with a voluntary contribution welcomed. This is not a revenue stream but a core community activity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Maakbaar Leuven vzw runs a community-driven repair ecosystem that helps citizens and businesses extend the lifespan of small household appliances, clothing, bicycles, and electronics through monthly Repair Cafés, a fixed Repair Hub Elektro workshop, an appliance rental service for students (Re-Startkit), educational workshops and an EHBO Elektro training course, and an interactive Repair Escape Game. The organization also delivers Corporate Repair Cafés for enterprise clients and pilots such as Hobby Repair and Telraam sensor repair, all aimed at reducing e-waste, transferring repair skills, and supporting circular economy outcomes in the Leuven region.

Product overview

Maakbaar Leuven vzw is a non-profit circular economy organization offering a portfolio of repair and reuse services, not a unified technology product. The core offerings include Repair Cafés (community repair events held at multiple locations), Herstel Hub Elektro (a fixed workshop for small household appliance repair, training, and rentals), and Re-Startkit (a student rental service for refurbished small appliances). Supporting products include the Repair Escape Game (educational team activity), B2B repair services for businesses, Open Atelier (self-service workspace), Corporate Repair Café (enterprise repair events), Hobby Repair (connecting hobbyists with second-hand goods for repair), and EHBO Elektro Cursus (repair training). The organization also runs pilot projects like Telraam sensor repair and participates in European programs like INTERREG E6.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Re-Startkit: Social-circular rental service for small household appliances targeting students in Leuven. Users can rent tested and repaired devices at low prices for temporary stays.
• Herstel Hub Elektro
• Repair Escape Game
• EHBO Cursus Elektro

Products and services

• Repair Café Community-based monthly repair events held at multiple locations across Leuven (Maakleerplek, Heverlee, Hal 5, Wijgmaal) where volunteers help visitors fix broken items including clothing, small electronics, bicycles, and knives. Free to attend with voluntary contributions and no advance registration required.
• Herstel Hub Elektro Fixed workshop location at Maakleerplek where small household appliances are repaired and given a second life. Offers repairs, workshops, training for new repairers, and rentable workbenches. Open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.
• Re-Startkit Appliance Rental Social-circular rental service for students in Leuven offering tested and repaired small household appliances. Students can rent items such as desk lamps, kettles, coffee machines, rice cookers, and vacuum cleaners for periods of 5, 6, or 11 months at affordable prices with maintenance materials and repair support included.
• Repair Escape Game Interactive team-based escape room experience teaching repair skills through puzzles and challenges. Six portable game boxes are rented out to schools, companies, birthday parties, and organizations, accommodating groups of up to 30 participants aged 10 and older, with gameplay of approximately 1.5 hours.
• B2B Hersteldienst (Business Repair Services) Customized repair services and circular solutions for businesses and organizations, including maintenance of equipment, life extension of devices, and setup of sustainable repair trajectories. Services are custom-quoted.
• Open Atelier Self-service workshop space within Herstel Hub Elektro where individuals can work on their own electrical projects using provided tools and workspace. Open Monday 12:00–17:00 and Thursday 12:00–20:00, priced at €15 per session or €135 for a 10-session pass.
• Corporate Repair Café On-site repair events organized at corporate locations where employees bring broken devices for repair by skilled colleagues. Includes full end-to-end project management, repairer training, tools, software, and safety guidelines. Targets companies with 1,000+ employees and a central office.
• Hobby Repair Pilot project connecting hobbyist repairers with second-hand appliances from Kringwinkel ViTeS. Trained volunteers repair selected devices at home following quality guidelines, with repaired items resold through Kringwinkel ViTeS with warranty.
• EHBO Elektro Cursus (First Aid for Electronics Course) Three-evening training course teaching participants about electricity, safety using the BA4 safety framework, multimeter use, device anatomy, fault analysis, and practical repairs on personal devices. Organized in partnership with Avansa Oost-Brabant.
• Telraam Sensor Repair Service Specialized repair service for traffic sensors where users bring defective Telraam devices for inspection, cleaning, part replacement, and recalibration. Includes a V1 sensor upgrade program with software updates and new camera mounts to reactivate older devices.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 780 devices handled in Repair Cafés in Leuven in 2024
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

24 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• EcowerfminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025Partner in the Mobile Recycling Park initiative alongside ViTeS and Maakbaar Leuven. Brings recycling services directly to neighborhoods, particularly targeting vulnerable populations, combined with mobile Repair Café and reuse services.
• Antemai (Kris Jehaes)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 December 2024Partner in Fairvacuum project alongside Orville and Maakbaar Leuven. Kris Jehaes leads the ecodesign exploration of a universal vacuum cleaner housing to dramatically extend product lifespan (from 5 to 50 years). Project funded by Vlaanderen Circulair/OVAM (December 2024 – December 2026).
• Orville (Vincent Ramaekers & An Pirlot)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 December 2024Partner in Fairvacuum project alongside Antemai and Maakbaar Leuven. Vincent Ramaekers and An Pirlot contribute to the universal vacuum cleaner housing design project focused on ecodesign and system thinking.
• KBCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024Second Corporate Repair Café partner. Organized a repair week in November 2024 at KBC Insurance headquarters in Leuven, with 48 devices brought in and 22 repaired directly. KBC is a leading European financial group (Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria).
• Avansa Oost-BrabantminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024Partner for practical organization and administration of the EHBO Elektro course. Avansa facilitated registrations and logistics for the three-evening training program taught by Maakbaar volunteer Joris Derwael.
• KU LeuvencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2024Academic research partner for Hobby Repair (research by Alex Bunodiere), Home Hub digital platform study (master thesis by three students), and Re-Startkit collaboration. Provides scientific rigor and student engagement for circular economy experiments.
• Kringwinkel ViTeScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2024Key operational partner for Hobby Repair: ViTeS selects suitable devices from its secondhand stream, handles logistics, and resells repaired devices through its stores with warranty. Kristiaan Debois coordinates within ViTeS. Also a partner in Re-Startkit and mobile recycling park initiatives.
• High Tech LabminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2024Partner in developing and building the Repair Escape Game boxes. Kobe Vaes from High Tech Lab collaborated with Maakbaar volunteer Joris Derwael to create the Leuven version of the escape game, making it more robust and user-friendly.
• Cronos / Cronos CarecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2024First Corporate Repair Café partner. Maakbaar organized the inaugural corporate repair event for Cronos in May 2024, reaching 9,000+ employees. Cronos Care (wellbeing organization within Cronos Group) co-designed and hosted the event.
• SAXION HOGESCHOOL (Netherlands)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Leading partner of the INTERREG E6 project. Saxion University of Applied Sciences coordinates the consortium of 19 partners across Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, France, and Ireland working on extending the lifetime of electrical and electronic equipment.
• MaakleerplekcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Host location for the Repair Hub Elektro and many events. Located at the Vaartkom (Stapelhuisstraat 13-15). Also the base for LLES (Leuvens Leerecosysteem) which connects 9 learning spaces across 4 locations in Greater Leuven.
• GoodPlanetcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner in ElektroHelden program alongside Recupel and the City of Leuven. GoodPlanet develops the educational curriculum for Leuven school children on circular economy and e-waste reduction.
• Stad LeuvencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024City of Leuven is a key municipal partner supporting multiple initiatives including ElektroHelden, LLES (with WSE Europa funding), and the broader repair ecosystem development. Promoter of Sharepair project (2020–2022).
• De BemanningminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Communication agency that designed the Leuvenfixt communication campaign including fresh branding, posters, flyers, social media content, and refrigerator magnets to increase awareness of repair initiatives across Leuven.
• Thomas More Mechelen-AntwerpenminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner in the INTERREG E6 project, contributing to the cross-regional ecosystem for extending the lifetime of electrical and electronic equipment in Northwest Europe.
• Repair&Share vzwcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner in INTERREG E6 project and co-promoter of Living Lab Herstel Eerst. Repair&Share supports the broader repair ecosystem development across Belgium and Europe.
• VITO (Vlaams Instituut voor Technologisch Onderzoek)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner in the INTERREG E6 project, contributing research and technological expertise to the ecosystem for extending the lifetime of electrical and electronic equipment.
• ViTeS MaatwerkbedrijvencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner in INTERREG E6 project and key operational partner for Hobby Repair and Re-Startkit. ViTeS provides social employment opportunities integrated with circular economy repair activities.
• MAAKbar vzwcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Key collaborator at Maakleerplek. Hosts the Gereedschappenbib (tool library) and collaborates on multiple initiatives including the Repair Café at the prison, the Repair Escape Game, and International Repair Day events.
• TelraamminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner for specialized sensor repair. Maakbaar organized a dedicated Telraam Sensor Repair Café and a summer 2024 upgrade project for older V1 sensors, reactivating dozens of traffic monitoring sensors in Leuven.
• Leuven Centraal PrisonminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2023Partner for Repair Café behind prison walls. Special repair sessions held 2–3 times per year in collaboration with MAAKbar vzw and BOS+, where volunteer repairers help detained individuals repair their own devices and clothing.
• Repair&SharecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Co-promoter of Living Lab Herstel Eerst alongside Herw!n and Maakbaar Leuven. Repair&Share focuses on developing repair infrastructure and sharing knowledge across Flemish repair ecosystems.
• Herw!ncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Co-promoter of Living Lab Herstel Eerst alongside Repair&Share and Maakbaar Leuven. Herw!n contributes to the network of repair initiatives across Flanders.
• RecupelcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partner in the STUK project (Slapende Toestellen Uit de Kast, 2022–2023) investigating unused appliances in Leuven homes. Also partner in ElektroHelden program with GoodPlanet and the City of Leuven.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Emerging players

• Refurbed: European marketplace for refurbished consumer electronics offering warranty-backed resale; comparable as a circular/refurbished-electronics brand but commercial and consumer-facing rather than community-driven like Maakbaar.
• iFixit: Global repair knowledge platform and tools retailer running community repair events and an open repair wiki; comparable as an enabler of the community repair movement but operates primarily online and via guides rather than physical repair venues.

Direct peers

• Kringwinkel ViTeS: Flemish social enterprise running secondhand shops and reuse streams; key operational partner for Maakbaar's Hobby Repair pilot and Re-Startkit, comparable as a Belgium-based circular economy non-profit in the reuse channel.
• Repair&Share vzw: Flemish non-profit focused on developing repair infrastructure and sharing knowledge across repair ecosystems; co-promoter with Maakbaar Leuven of Living Lab Herstel Eerst and partner in INTERREG E6, directly comparable in mission and Belgian operating context.
• The Repair Café Foundation (Stichting Repair Café): Dutch-founded originator of the global Repair Café movement; the parent concept and international brand under which Maakbaar Leuven organizes many of its community repair events, making it the closest conceptual peer.
• Restarters.net (The Restart Project): UK-based charity running community repair events and the open-source Restarters.net documentation platform that Maakbaar uses to log Corporate Repair Café outcomes; a direct peer in the community repair and repair-data space.
• Herw!n: Flemish network supporting local repair initiatives, sharing tools and knowledge among repair cafés; co-promoter of Living Lab Herstel Eerst with Maakbaar Leuven and an active peer in the same Belgian/Flemish repair ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Recupel: Belgian extended producer responsibility organization for end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment; partner in ElektroHelden and a broader incumbent operating in the same e-waste/EEE reuse category as Maakbaar, but at industry-wide rather than community level.
• OVAM: Flemish public waste and materials agency; a key funder of Maakbaar's circular projects and the broader regulator/policy actor setting the Flemish waste and circular economy framework within which the organization operates.

Others

• GoodPlanet Belgium: Belgian non-profit developing educational programs on sustainability and circular economy; co-developer of the ElektroHelden program with Maakbaar and an adjacent social-purpose peer in education-for-circularity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maakbaar-leuven

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 Maakbaar Leuven