Now that corona is over, more starters in catering and culture see their chance | Economy

In April, the registers of the Chamber of Commerce counted 935 starters in the catering industry. In particular, many so-called event caterers have been added. This group includes, for example, the independent cooks and baristas. In culture, sports and recreation, more than 1000 starters were involved, mainly in the field of art.

“Entrepreneurs see their opportunity to benefit from opening to the public in these sectors,” says Josette Dijkhuizen in an explanation. She is professor of sustainable employability of entrepreneurs at Tilburg University. “In addition, there is confidence that the pandemic is now really over. That is probably what we see in the numbers.”

The total number of starters in April, as in March, was lower than in the same month last year. In total, there were almost 20,000 new companies, which is a decrease of 3 percent. At more than 12,000, the number of quitters was more than a quarter higher than in April last year. The total number of companies continued to grow slightly to more than 2.2 million.

“After the pandemic, it is inevitable that the number of quitters would increase,” Dijkhuizen said. During the corona period, many companies were kept afloat by government support. But according to the Chamber of Commerce there were fewer bankruptcies. With 94 bankrupts, this monthly figure was not even that low since January 2020.

“The fact that the number of bankruptcies has fallen again, contrary to expectations, may well have to do with the insight of entrepreneurs,” suggests Dijkhuizen. “They may want to avoid bankruptcy by quitting on their own and not letting it come to bankruptcy.” The Chamber of Commerce is also clearly receiving more calls from entrepreneurs with questions about the consequences of a possible bankruptcy, a spokesperson said. “The real question for them is whether they let it come to it, or end all their business in advance.”