OCMW Gent
OCMW Gent is the statutorily mandated public social welfare center of Ghent, Belgium, delivering financial assistance, food aid, housing support, employment guidance, and legal/psychological counseling to vulnerable Ghent residents through neighborhood offices and public funding.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersGhent, Belgium
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What OCMW Gent does
OCMW Gent (Public Centre for Social Welfare of Ghent) is the statutorily mandated municipal welfare institution for the city of Ghent, Belgium, operating as part of Stad Gent. It administers public social assistance to Ghent residents who lack sufficient means of subsistence or who face difficulties integrating into society, with a footprint that covers approximately 270,000 residents including a target population of roughly 45,000 individuals living below the poverty line.
Its core service lines include financial assistance (livelihood support, supplements and allowances), food aid (including the sociale restaurants program), housing support ("Hulp bij wonen"), employment guidance ("Begeleiding naar werk"), and legal/psychological counseling. Services are delivered through a decentralized network of neighborhood welfare offices ("wijkwelzijnswerking") and supplemented by a digital appointment system. The technology stack is administrative rather than proprietary, with digital infrastructure supported through a partnership with District09.
The institution is publicly funded rather than commercially revenue-generating: its operating model rests on municipal and federal government allocations set under Belgian welfare law, with no transactional pricing or customer billing. The customer base is exclusively Ghent residents meeting statutory eligibility criteria, and growth in service volume is driven primarily by regulatory and demographic factors rather than commercial go-to-market activity.
OCMW Gent firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OCMW Gent
- Legal name
- OCMW Gent
- Website
- https://ocmwgent.be
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- OCMW Gent is the statutorily mandated public social welfare center of Ghent, Belgium, delivering financial assistance, food aid, housing support, employment guidance, and legal/psychological counseling to vulnerable Ghent residents through neighborhood offices and public funding.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OCMW Gent industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Social Welfare Services
- NAICS
- Social Assistance (624), Health Care and Social Assistance (62)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) & Public Behavioral Health Providers (HLAFACAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Refugee/Migrant Health & Resettlement Health Units (HLAJAAAJ)
Keywords
Where OCMW Gent is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ghent
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
OCMW Gent business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Government Funding: OCMW Gent is a public institution funded by municipal and federal government budgets. Revenue comes from tax revenues and government allocations rather than direct service fees.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
OCMW Gent product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OCMW Gent is the public municipal social welfare center of the City of Ghent that provides statutorily mandated safety-net services to residents. Its core offerings include the leefloon (living income) benefit, debt counseling, subsidized meals through sociale restaurants, food aid, housing assistance, employment guidance via the social economy, and legal and psychological counseling. These services are delivered free of charge through neighborhood welfare offices (welzijnsbureaus), local service centers (lokale dienstencentra), and a digital appointment system.
Product overview
OCMW Gent is a public social welfare organization operating as part of the City of Ghent's municipal government. It provides a comprehensive portfolio of social services organized around five core areas: financial and material assistance (including income support/leefloon, debt counseling, and supplementary aid); food security programs (social restaurants, food aid, and social grocers); employment and education support (job guidance, social economy services, and student financial assistance); housing assistance (rental support, repair help, and homeless services); and counseling services (legal advice, psychological support, and addiction guidance). Services are delivered through neighborhood-based welfare offices (welzijnsbureaus) and local service centers (lokale dienstencentra), with a focus on holistic support tailored to individual needs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Leefloon (Living Income Benefit) Income support benefit for Ghent residents who lack sufficient means to support themselves. Recipients must meet eligibility criteria and may be subject to updated federal regulations regarding household income calculations for co-resident family members.
- Financiële en materiële hulp (Financial and Material Assistance) General financial and material assistance program including supplementary financial aid, debt counseling, and emergency support services for residents in need in Ghent.
- Sociale restaurants (Subsidized Meal Program) Subsidized meal program providing affordable food options at social restaurants throughout Ghent for residents facing financial hardship.
- Voedselhulp (Food Aid) Food aid services including social grocers (sociale kruideniers) and emergency food assistance for residents experiencing food insecurity in Ghent.
- Begeleiding naar werk (Employment Guidance) Job placement and career guidance services helping Ghent residents transition into employment, offered in collaboration with social economy partners.
- Dienstenbedrijf Sociale Economie (Social Economy Enterprise) Social economy enterprise providing work opportunities and vocational training within a supported employment framework in Ghent.
- Hulp bij schulden (Debt Counseling) Debt counseling and financial rehabilitation services helping Ghent residents manage and resolve outstanding debts.
- Hulp bij wonen (Housing Assistance) Comprehensive housing assistance including rental support, repair help, furniture rental, and assistance for homeless individuals and families in Ghent.
- Juridische en psychologische hulp (Legal and Psychological Counseling) Legal advice, psychological counseling, and drug problem guidance services provided by qualified professionals for Ghent residents.
- Welzijnsbureaus (Neighborhood Welfare Offices) Neighborhood-based social welfare offices providing face-to-face assistance where social workers assess individual needs and connect Ghent residents with appropriate support services.
- Lokale dienstencentra (Local Service Centers) Local service centers offering community-based social services and programs for residents in various neighborhoods throughout Ghent.
Companies that use OCMW Gent
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
OCMW Gent technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
OCMW Gent partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
OCMW Gent competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Lokale dienstencentra Gent: Ghent's neighborhood community service centers, operated alongside OCMW Gent under Stad Gent. Provide community-based social activities and lighter-touch services for elderly and vulnerable residents, complementing rather than competing with OCMW Gent's welfare mandate.
Broad incumbents
- CAW (Centrum Algemeen Welzijnswerk): Flemish network of general welfare centers offering psychosocial support, housing aid, and crisis intervention. Overlaps with OCMW Gent on psychological counseling and welfare services but is a regional NGO network rather than a single municipal public body.
- Kind en Gezin: Flemish agency providing preventive family and child welfare services, including home visitation and child health support. Adjacent to OCMW Gent's family welfare remit but focused specifically on children and parents rather than the full municipal welfare population.
Others
- VDAB (Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling): Flemish public employment service providing job placement, training, and career guidance. Adjacent to OCMW Gent's 'begeleiding naar werk' service, with which it actively partners. Comparable in being a publicly funded welfare-adjacent provider but distinct in its employment-only mandate.
- Stad Gent (City of Ghent): Parent municipal authority of OCMW Gent. Provides funding, governance, and cross-departmental coordination (housing, education, local service centers). Not a peer in a competitive sense but the parent organization that defines OCMW Gent's strategic direction.
Direct peers
- OCMW Antwerpen: Public social welfare center of Antwerp operating under the same Belgian OCMW legal framework as OCMW Gent. Delivers the same statutory portfolio of leefloon, debt counseling, housing aid, food assistance, and social work, making it the closest functional peer in a larger Flemish city.
- OCWM Mechelen: Public social welfare center of Mechelen, another mid-sized Flemish city. Directly comparable in legal framework, service mix, and operating model to OCMW Gent.
- OCMW Brugge: Public social welfare center of Bruges, also operating under the Flemish OCMW framework. Directly comparable in service scope and statutory role to OCMW Gent, serving a smaller Flemish city.
- OCMW Leuven: Public social welfare center of Leuven, a Flemish university city. Operates the same OCMW statutory mandate as OCMW Gent with a comparable service portfolio, though serving a smaller and younger demographic profile.
- CPAS de Bruxelles (OCMW Brussel): Brussels public social welfare center (French-language equivalent of OCMW). Operates the same legal mandate and service mix as OCMW Gent, but in the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region, and serves a comparably large and diverse urban welfare population.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
OCMW Gent social profiles
Digital presenceOCMW Gent financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OCMW Gent leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
OCMW Gent funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OCMW Gent M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about OCMW Gent
What does OCMW Gent do?
OCMW Gent is the public municipal social welfare center of the City of Ghent that provides statutorily mandated safety-net services to residents. Its core offerings include the leefloon (living income) benefit, debt counseling, subsidized meals through sociale restaurants, food aid, housing assistance, employment guidance via the social economy, and legal and psychological counseling. These services are delivered free of charge through neighborhood welfare offices (welzijnsbureaus), local service centers (lokale dienstencentra), and a digital appointment system.
Is OCMW Gent a public or private company?
OCMW Gent is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was OCMW Gent founded?
OCMW Gent was founded in -1. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is OCMW Gent based?
OCMW Gent is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does OCMW Gent make money?
One revenue line is on record: government Funding.
Who are OCMW Gent's main competitors?
Lokale dienstencentra Gent is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are CAW (Centrum Algemeen Welzijnswerk) and Kind en Gezin. Others are VDAB (Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling) and Stad Gent (City of Ghent). Direct peers are OCMW Antwerpen, OCWM Mechelen, OCMW Brugge, OCMW Leuven and CPAS de Bruxelles (OCMW Brussel).
Does OCMW Gent have an API?
No public API is recorded for OCMW Gent.
What industry is OCMW Gent in?
OCMW Gent's product category is Public Social Welfare Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAFACAI, Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) & Public Behavioral Health Providers, with a secondary code of HLAJAAAJ, Refugee/Migrant Health & Resettlement Health Units. Its NAICS code is 624 and its SIC code is 8300.