Orange Belgium launches the second edition of the “Trophée de l’Indépendant – Trofee van de Zelfstandige”, an initiative that celebrates the self-employed professionals and small businesses that help drive the Belgian economy forward. Together with its partners, Orange Belgium will award the prizes and trophy on November 18th to entrepreneurs who stand out through their customer experience, passion and commitment.
Highlighting exceptional customer experience in entrepreneurship
With this initiative, Orange Belgium aims to highlight the work of self-employed professionals, freelancers and small businesses (up to nine employees across Belgium). As in the previous edition, this year’s competition focuses on outstanding customer experience. The jury will look at how participants build strong relationships with their customers throughout every step of the customer journey. This can take many forms such as a thoughtful service approach, a clear value proposition, personalized follow-up, strong after-sales support or simply the passion and care that entrepreneurs bring to their work every day. The award aims to recognize the people behind these initiatives and the efforts they make to stay close to their customers’ expectations.
Christophe Dujardin, Chief Consumer Officer at Orange Belgium: “Self-employed professionals and small businesses play an important role in the Belgian economy and in the daily lives of every customer. Through this initiative, we want to give them visibility, create opportunities to share experiences, and inspire one another across Brussels, Flanders, and Wallonia. This initiative also reflects our ambition to support entrepreneurs in building strong and lasting customer relationships, in line with our ‘Trust the future’ strategy.”
Spotlight on Belgium’s self employed and small business talent
Registrations will open on 18 May and run until 28 August. The competition will enter its public voting phase starting on 14 September and will run until 16 October. Between 19 October and 30 October, the jury will review all applications and select ten Dutch-speaking and ten French-speaking finalists. Orange Belgium will announce the finalists on 2 November. The winners will be announced by Orange Belgium during an award ceremony on 18 November. The top three winners per language will receive a cash prize, a one-year telecom package as well as rewards offered by the partners. One winner per language will receive the “Trophée de l’Indépendant – Trofee van de Zelfstandige”.
The entries will be reviewed by a panel of business experts consisting of five Dutch-speaking and five French-speaking jury members. The Dutch-speaking jury includes Benny Debruyne (Trends), Sylvia Van Loo (Uit-Zicht VOF, laureate 2025), Louis Wouters (Pulse Foundation), Moïse Bete (Accountable) and Stephanie Slabinck (De Zondag). The French-speaking jury includes Camille Delannois (Trends-Tendances), Marina Libertiaux (Narsahome ASBL, laureate 2025), Rodrigue Vierin (Pulse Foundation), Laurent H.J. De Smet (Dr Sales) and Alexandra Schraepen (UCM). Christophe Dujardin will also join both juries on behalf of Orange Belgium.
To learn more about the competition, prizes and participation rules, visit:
