Social Enterprise in Belgium: A Diversity of Roots, Models and Fields

This working paper is structured as follows. The first section reviews the main historical roots that have led to the emergence of a diversity of models related to social enterprise and the social economy in Belgium. Next, the second section sketches the main features of these models in terms of legal forms, types of social missions addressed, governance dynamics and resources. In the third section, these models are then illustrated in different fields of activity, both established and emerging. Finally, the fourth section proposes a transversal analysis of the main trends and challenges that the different models face in terms of development and coexistence.