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The budget is gone, the scheme disappears
The kmo-portefeuille, the SME wallet of the Flemish government, is being abolished: VLAIO, the Flemish agency for innovation and entrepreneurship, reported that the 2026 budget is used up, that no new applications can be filed since 15 October 2026, and that from 1 January 2027 the scheme no longer exists. Companies with an application already under way can complete it up to and including 31 December 2027.
The Flemish government decided to end it on 1 October 2026, in its annual September Declaration (Septemberverklaring). Two weeks later this year's money was gone, also for training that would only start in 2027. For a small or mid-sized company in Flanders that still wanted a course or a cybersecurity review paid for, the window closed earlier than the date in the papers.
What was decided and when
For years the kmo-portefeuille (literally "SME portfolio", in English usually called the SME wallet) was how a Flemish small business got part of a training course or an advice assignment back from a registered provider. If you run a company in Flanders, Belgian or foreign-owned, it was one of the first subsidies an accountant would mention. In 2026 it shrank to nothing in three steps.
| Date | What | What it meant for you |
|---|---|---|
| 1 February 2026 | Reform: advice only for cybersecurity | Advice on digitalisation, AI or marketing dropped out |
| 1 October 2026 | The Flemish government decides to end the scheme | End announced from 1 January 2027 |
| 15 October 2026 | 2026 budget used up | No new applications, also not for 2027 |
| 1 January 2027 | Scheme ended | No more support |
| 31 December 2027 | End of completion | Open applications must be closed by then |
After the February reform mostly the training part remained: a small company got 30 percent, a medium-sized one 20 percent, with a ceiling of 7,500 euros of support a year. Training and advice on cybersecurity and training on energy efficiency got 45 and 35 percent. Advice on a website or an AI project no longer qualified from February.
The date of 15 October is the one that counts. Anyone who thought they could apply until the end of December was too late. Our guide to digitalisation grants in Flanders has the full overview of what fell away in 2026, and our overview of new EU rules in 2027 sets out the other rules that take effect on 1 January.
SME wallet applicationsTraining 30 or 20 percent, up to EUR 7,500 a year
Advice only for cybersecuritySince 1 February 2026
Running applications closeUp to and including 31 December 2027
SME wallet scrappedNo support from 1 January 2027
Schaalklaar 2027Pre-application 15 to 29 January
- Flemish government decision
- 2026 budget used up
- End of the scheme
- Last day to close files
Schaalklaar is a separate scheme for young growth companies, capped at 100 pre-applications.
Who feels the difference
Not every company loses the same. If you only used the wallet for a yearly training course, you now pay more. If you counted on advice for a digital project, you already lost that support in February.
| Who | What you lose | What you do now |
|---|---|---|
| SME that books training every year | 20 or 30 percent on every course | Bundle training and deduct it as a business expense |
| SME with an open application | Nothing, if you complete it in time | Invoice and close the file on the platform before 31 December 2027 |
| SME that planned cybersecurity advice | 45 or 35 percent support | Plan the advice anyway, certainly if NIS2 applies to you |
| Young growth company | The wallet, but Schaalklaar remains | Pre-apply for Schaalklaar 2027 |
| Provider that sold through the wallet | An argument in every quote | Explain price and value without a subsidy |
For an SME having a website or software built, less changes than you might think: the build itself never fell under the kmo-portefeuille. What disappears is support for the training around it.
If your company sits in Brussels rather than Flanders, none of this ever applied to you: the wallet was Flemish. Brussels has its own premiums, and one of them can still pay part of a website, as our guide to the website grant in Brussels explains.
The same course, before and after 15 October
An AI course of 2,400 euros excluding VAT for four people at a small company, as an example.
- SME wallet support
- Applied for before 15 October 202630 percent, so 720 euros
- Applied for after 15 October 2026Nothing, no application possible
- What you pay yourself
- Applied for before 15 October 20261,680 euros
- Applied for after 15 October 20262,400 euros
- Deductible as a business expense
- Applied for before 15 October 2026Your own share of 1,680 euros
- Applied for after 15 October 2026The full 2,400 euros
- Tax saving at 20 percent
- Applied for before 15 October 2026336 euros
- Applied for after 15 October 2026480 euros
- What it costs you net
- Applied for before 15 October 20261,344 euros
- Applied for after 15 October 20261,920 euros
The difference is 576 euros for this course. Expensive, but no reason not to train your team: since 2 February 2025 the EU AI Act requires your people to know enough about AI.
Worked example: what a course really costs now
The example above assumes a small Belgian company that pays the reduced corporate tax rate of 20 percent on its first 100,000 euros of profit. At the standard rate of 25 percent the tax saving is larger and the difference slightly smaller. Your accountant works it out for your situation.
Since 2 February 2025 the EU AI Act requires anyone using AI in a business to make their people sufficiently AI-literate. That duty stays, with or without a subsidy. Our EU AI Act checker shows in five minutes what the regulation asks of your company, and the guide implement AI in your business shows how to set up a pilot that pays for itself.
What you can still apply for
No general scheme for every SME is replacing it for now. What remains is more targeted, or fiscal.
| Scheme | For whom | Status on 25 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Schaalklaar 2027 | Young, innovative growth companies | Pre-application 15 to 29 January 2027, max 100; full application 22 March to 23 April 2027 |
| VLAIO support for innovation and development | Projects with real technical risk | Open, with a project plan and budget |
| Investment deduction for digital fixed assets | Self-employed people and small companies | 20 percent since 1 January 2025, for certain digital investments |
| Cost deduction for e-invoicing | Small companies and the self-employed | 120 percent up to and including 2027 |
| SME growth subsidy | SMEs taking a growth step | Stopped, no new calls |
Schaalklaar ("scale-ready") is not a successor to the wallet: VLAIO expects to support about fifteen companies in 2027, with a budget of 5.25 million euros. The call documents come out in November 2026. Whether an investment qualifies for the increased investment deduction depends on what you buy; your accountant decides that, not your supplier. The cost deduction for e-invoicing applies if you invest in Peppol e-invoicing; whether you are ready shows in our Peppol check.
In Ghent the city had already ended its subsidy for renovating and embellishing retail premises and its starter contract on 31 December 2025, as our guide to the starter grant in Ghent explains. The subsidy for retail initiatives remains.
What business owners are asking now
Can I still apply for the kmo-portefeuille?
No. Since 15 October 2026 the 2026 budget is used up and you can no longer file a new application, also not for a course starting in 2027. From 1 January 2027 the scheme no longer exists.
What happens to my open application?
It continues. SMEs with an open application can complete their process up to and including 31 December 2027. Have your provider invoice in time and close the steps on the platform before that date.
Is there a successor to the SME wallet?
Not as a scheme that pays training and advice for every SME. The SME growth subsidy has stopped too. What remains is more targeted: Schaalklaar for young growth companies, innovation support from VLAIO and tax deductions.
Did the SME wallet ever pay for a website?
No, not for the build itself. It paid for advice and training from a registered provider, never the website, the online shop or the software. Which tax rules apply to a website is in our answer on whether to capitalise website costs.
What to do this week
- If you have an open application, check on the platform which steps are still open and ask your provider to invoice in time. The limit is 31 December 2027.
- If you had planned a course you meant to pay with the wallet, decide whether it goes ahead and work out the net amount as above.
- If you are a young growth company, read the Schaalklaar documents in November and put the pre-application of 15 January in your diary.
- If you are planning a digital project, ask your accountant whether it qualifies for the increased investment deduction before you sign the order, and check whether you capitalise website costs or deduct them at once.
Making your project pay without a subsidy
Without support, a digital project has to pay for itself sooner. So we start with the part that saves the most time or brings in the most revenue, and build in steps, with a fixed price per project after a first conversation. For Business Centrum we replaced a spreadsheet with a custom management platform; their site got 46 times as many impressions in Google within five weeks. What that could be for you is in AI for business and custom software, and what such projects cost in custom software development cost. Bring your plan to a call.