The Belgian Knowledge Centre for SME Financing (BeCeFi) was created on the recommendation of the “SME Financing” workgroup.

The latter, instituted in 2004 by the Federal Ministers Didier Reynders (Finance), Sabine Laruelle (Middle Classes) and Fientje Moerman (Economy), included all of the players in the field concerned with the issue. In the same way as the first workgroup set up in 2001, its mission consisted of developing avenues of reflection that could lead to the creation of a more favourable environment for SME financing.

In 2005, the Federal Government and the Participation Fund released the necessary budgets for starting the activities of the Centre, the inauguration of which took place in November of the same year in the presence of the Minister, Sabine Laruelle.

At the end of 2008, in the context of the Federal Revival Programme and the SME Plan put in place in answer to the financial crisis that is not sparing our country, new missions were entrusted to the Participation Fund and the BeCeFi, henceforth charged with a credit mediator role for the benefit of companies facing financing problems.

In this context, following the express request of the Tutelage Authorities, the Participation Fund’s Board of Directors decided, on 20 January 2009, to endow the BeCeFi with a legal personality, via the Non-Profit Association status.