Page 5 - EIF_CIP case studies

Karen opened her chocolate boutique in Antwerp in 2007 and has never looked back since. She runs the business herself and has kept it afoat through hard work and dedication to a cause which many people are passionate about – chocolate.

Karen graduated as a jeweller and goldsmith but could not fnd the job she was looking for. After searching to no avail, she started working in a local shop knowing that it wasn’t really the job of her dreams.

In a bid to fnd her dream job, she started following evening classes to become a chocolate confectioner. In the meantime, she worked in a coffee shop to make a living while planning how she could start her own business.

Her passion for chocolate was luckily coupled with a passion for entrepreneurship, so when the opportunity came to turn this into a reality, she went to the Belgian fnancial intermediary FdP (Participatiefonds/Fonds de Participation) for fnance and left with EUR 12,000 “feeling like a kid in a sweet shop“!

Karen hopes to keep the passion alive and is already planning on diversifying her business offering by looking to start making specialities on demand for those sweet-toothed clients in Antwerp.

Company: Karelicious, Antwerp Type of business: Chocolate boutique EU-guaranteed loan from FdP: EUR 12,000

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Belgium

Belgian chocolate with an

entrepreneurial flavour