Voka and Proximus: accelerating digitization together

With its 18,000 members, Voka is the largest entrepreneurs' network in Flanders. "We focus on defending, connecting, and strengthening," says managing director Hans Maertens. "One of the ways we do this is by organizing more than a thousand networking events every year." The pillar 'strengthening' includes informing members, especially about everything related to ICT, data, and technology. The partnership with Proximus is key in this respect.

"Our plan with Voka is clear," says Hans Maertens. "We are working to make Flanders a top European region in terms of digitalization, sustainability, health, and well-being by 2030. To achieve this goal, technology is indispensable. This is where the importance of ICT and data comes to the fore, with all the associated sub-domains that we need expertise around: IoT, 5G, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, you name it." Voka will continue to rely on Proximus to keep its members completely up to date of technological developments for the next three years.

Hans Maertens, managing director at Voka

Learning from colleagues and experts

There are many different aspects to the partnership between Voka and Proximus. "On average, we organize two or three events a day, throughout the country," says Patrice Bakeroot, Head of Alliantie at Voka. “We focus on peer learning, where participants learn from their colleagues' practice.” For events around ICT, Voka can count on the experts of Proximus. "That's right," confirms Patrice Bakeroot. "An expert from Proximus will attend and explain a new technology, for example, not only with information about the opportunities, but also about the possible risks and challenges."

The digital workplace is one such topic. "Voka has also built up the necessary experience of its own," says Kristof Lidou, Head of Sales Flanders at Proximus. "Voka has had to learn to switch between physical, hybrid, and digital events very quickly over the past two years." As a partner, Proximus naturally helped to support this in practice. "I am thinking of the 5G Matinee," Kristof Lidou continues, "which grew into a digital event with over a thousand participants."

Opportunities and risks

With a theme such as 5G, Voka’s primary objective is to make Flemish entrepreneurs enthusiastic and point out the opportunities. But the organization is also looking at current practice. "We have developed a specific program on security," says Johann Leten, managing director of Voka Limburg. "We see that companies are still not sufficiently aware of the challenges posed by digitization. Or they only intervene after an incident has occurred." Voka wants to increase the awareness of cybersecurity, among other things through testimonials from businesses, supported by Proximus experts.

Hans Maertens, managing director at Voka

"That remains an important theme," says Hans Maertens. "Entrepreneurs are very proactive: they see the opportunities of the digital workplace, of IoT, AI, and so on, but they often pay much less attention to the associated risks." In the context of cybersecurity, among other things, Voka is counting on its partnership with Proximus to help members better assess the potential risks and provide the necessary security measures.

Open partnership

5G is another important pillar in the partnership. "The postponement of the auction of the 5G licenses has caused us to lose valuable time," says Hans Maertens. "By joining forces with Proximus, we can better help the companies to catch up." By the way, this is always done with a great deal of transparency. "We give each other honest feedback," says Kristof Lidou.

"This keeps us on our toes and only strengthens our partnership. We have now extended that partnership for another three years, but we are not waiting until the end of that period to evaluate the cooperation. In fact, we do that every day."