More than 200 business leaders, clients, partners and experts gathered in Ghent on 22 October for Coface Belgium’s Country Risk Conference 2026. The event combined economic and geopolitical analysis, a CFO roundtable and networking to help companies better understand emerging risks and identify opportunities for sustainable growth.
A changing global economy creates new opportunities
Opening the conference, Alexandre Lacreu, Country Manager for Coface Belgium, highlighted how the global economy’s centre of gravity is shifting towards emerging markets. For companies, this changing environment brings greater volatility, but also new markets and growth opportunities.
“The question is not whether companies should take risks.
The question is how to take the right risk.”
Alexandre Lacreu, Country Manager for Coface Belgium and Luxembourg
This message set the tone for an afternoon focused on the developments reshaping the business environment. Jonathan Holslag examined the changing geopolitical landscape. Ruben Nizard presented the macroeconomic outlook, including persistent inflation, restrictive monetary policies, growth forecasts and rising business insolvencies. Aurélien Duthoit explored how artificial intelligence is affecting industries, regions and the labour market. Hans Diels focused on geopolitical disruption, its impact on global networks, supply chains, markets and resources, and the steps companies can take to strengthen their resilience.
Managing risk to adapt faster and grow with confidence
The conference also showed how an integrated approach to credit risk can support confident growth. Coface combines Business Information to anticipate and assess risk, Credit Insurance to protect companies against non-payment, and Debt Collection to support efficient recovery when payment challenges arise.
Business perspectives from the CFO roundtable
The “Navigating Growth, Risk and Transformation” roundtable brought together Lieven Leenders of H.Essers, Ramon Van De Voort of Stellantis Powertrain, Jurgen Van Eetvelde of Arvesta and Dany Cornelis of Vanden Avenne. Their discussion translated the day’s economic and geopolitical themes into practical business considerations, including investment choices, risk management and transformation.
Connecting expertise with the Belgian market
The conference provided a valuable platform for business leaders, clients, prospects, brokers and partners to exchange perspectives and build new connections. By combining Coface expertise with first-hand experience from Belgian companies, the event helped participants consider how to pursue growth while managing a more volatile risk environment.
Thank you to all our speakers, panellists, clients and partners who contributed to the success of this edition.
Useful links
• Discover our economic insights and country risk analyses: https://www.coface.be/en/news-economy-and-insights/business-risk-dashboard
• Explore Coface solutions for managing commercial risk:https://www.coface.be/en/trade-credit-insurance
• View the aftermovie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IWvSlCS11I