The Walloon Government today adopted the implementing decree to make the Coup de Pouce Loan permanent. Ten years after its launch, the scheme has demonstrated its ability to mobilise private savings for the benefit of self-employed workers and Walloon SMEs. Yet this success did not exempt it from a clear-eyed evaluation of how it functions.
Despite the demonstrated usefulness of this scheme, certain limitations came to light. The gap between the 4% tax credit rate during the first four years and the subsequent 2.5% rate encouraged certain optimisation behaviours, with loans structured over four years to maximise the tax advantage. Strategies of artificially renewing loans and certain opportunistic arrangements were also observed. Without calling into question the relevance of the scheme, these findings made it necessary to improve its operation, better target public intervention, limit windfall effects, and ensure a better balance between the cost to public finances and the economic impact actually generated.
The Government chose to reform the mechanism to make it more effective and to make it permanent, because it remains useful to Walloon self-employed workers and SMEs.
| Before the reform | Since the reform | |
| Tax credit | 4% for the first four years, then 2.5% | 2.5% for the entire duration of the loan |
| Maximum amount per lender | 125.000 € | 75.000 € |
| Maximum amount per borrower | 250.000 € | 300.000 € |
The reform does not change the philosophy of the Coup de Pouce Loan. It adjusts the parameters to make it simpler, clearer, more effective and more sustainable. The objective remains the same: to direct private savings towards self-employed workers and Walloon SMEs that need financing to grow.
“Good economic policy does not mean keeping a scheme unchanged out of principle. It means assessing what works, correcting what needs to be corrected, and strengthening what actually delivers results. We kept the Coup de Pouce Loan because it is useful. We reformed it because it needed to be improved. This is not less support for Walloon entrepreneurs, it is more effective and better targeted support”, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy Pierre-Yves Jeholet.
The results recorded since the scheme's launch confirm the relevance of this approach. Since 2016, 9,664 loans have been granted for a total amount of more than €111.2 million, thanks to the commitment of 6,265 lenders, benefiting 2,506 Walloon self-employed workers and businesses.
The decree adopted today marks the final step of this reform. By removing the loan registration deadline, the Government puts an end to the uncertainty surrounding the scheme and gives it a lasting foundation.
“The figures speak for themselves. More than €111 million has been mobilised for the benefit of our SMEs and self-employed workers. Behind these amounts are projects coming to life, investments taking shape, and economic activity developing throughout Wallonia. When the results are there, we must know how to make what works permanent.”
The Coup de Pouce Loan illustrates a strong conviction of the Walloon Government: private savings can play an essential role in financing the real economy when directed towards projects that create value and jobs.
The Minister concludes: “we are choosing to place our trust. Trust in our entrepreneurs, but also in the ability of Walloons to invest in their region's economy. The Coup de Pouce Loan makes it possible to turn private savings into a growth lever for our SMEs. It is a concrete, useful and effective mechanism. We now want to embed it permanently in the Walloon economic landscape.”