The Walloon government has just adopted an intelligent specialisation strategy that clearly builds on the development potential of the chemical and life sciences industry in Wallonia. This sector represents almost 26,000 jobs and an R&D expenditure of almost €1.5 billion. It has grown by more than 50% over the last ten years.

"Intelligent specialisation involves clearly identifying the strengths and weaknesses of an activity in order to focus resources on increasing the former and rectifying the latter. In this context, the region is counting on the competitive advantages and growth potential of our sector", according to Bernard Broze, Managing Director of Essenscia Wallonie.

Essenscia Wallonie, the regional division of Essenscia, offers its members cutting-edge information, consultancy and services in regional Walloon and community issues. The chemical and life sciences sector is the second-largest industrial activity in Wallonia, with almost 25% of the turnover of the entire Walloon manufacturing industry.

The Walloon government is using this specialisation strategy to target the fields of competitiveness clusters and is therefore counting on biopharmaceuticals with BioWin and on sustainable chemicals with GreenWin. It is also strengthening this approach by developing cross-cutting areas such as digitisation, the circular economy and the development of innovation supports.