"You also realize that you don’t really need public financial help if you don’t get robbed to begin with. To create a SPRL/BVBA in Belgium, the capital must be fully subscribed at the time the company is incorporated, to the amount of €18,550 (of which €6,200 must actually be paid up in the account of the SPRL/BVBA). Also, the articles of association must be written before a notary. You need to be physically present in the office of a random guy you never met and will never meet again to make sure that your company can be incorporated."<p>Indeed. This is one of those things that is a massive, nonobvious competitive advantage for Anglosphere countries - most have an incorporation system that works for really tiny businesses, and there are very few requirements for notaries or similar. There really isn't a good reason for company registration to have non trivial costs.<p>Companies House will do it for £12. There are third parties who will do the registration through their API for even less, somehow. And the UK is also quite good at legal recognition for unincorporated members' associations (useful if you want a local nonprofit org).