EU Business News- Benelux Enterprise Awards 2026 Best Cross-Sector Youth Employability Initiative 2026 – Belgium CAP-City is a Belgian non-profit organisation operating out of Borgerhout, Antwerp, where it empowers young people through communication, activation, and participation. The organisation works primarily with vulnerable young people, including early school leavers, NEET youth, and those with ADHD or ASD. Its partners and clients range from schools and youth organisations to businesses, local governments, and European networks. Founder Nigel Chantrain was on hand for more following CAP-City’s recognition in this programme. Building success and opportunity for the leaders of tomorrow, CAPCity offers young people the tools and the confidence they need to successfully navigate today’s society and labour market. This dynamic non-profit is committed to the development of young people, and it works towards a sustainable future by strengthening their skills and selfconfidence through a blend of workshops, training, and coaching. Its services also cover digital competence validation through Open Badges on the Antwerp City of Learning platform. Through these services, Nigel explained: “Our core mission is to bridge education, youth work, business, and policy, making cross-sector collaboration a reflex rather than an exception. We believe every young person has talent, and that society grows stronger when all sectors work together to make that talent visible and valuable.” Since opening its doors in 2023, CAP-City has grown from a small and relatively unknown organisation into a recognised cross-sector partner acknowledged by the Flemish Department of Work and Social Economy. It has built a network of more than 30 partners from across a range of sectors, earning itself recognition from local and regional institutions and constantly being invited to present its methodology to professionals and experts alike across the sector. Time and again, its work has been celebrated as both relevant and needed. The blend of network strength, institutional recognition, and digital infrastructure – all achieved in under two years – is what sets CAPCity apart. Many organisations specialise in one of these areas, but in bringing all three of them together, the team here are showing the strength, mission, and trust that partners, institutions, and young people all place in them. When it comes to young people especially, a big part of this trust stems from the fact that CAP-City starts with what they can do, not what they cannot. This resonates deeply with those young adults who often feel let down by traditional systems. For Nigel and the team here, all of this feeds into something much bigger, namely the significant trend that fragmented and single-sector approaches are no longer enough to address the challenges today’s young people face. With leaders increasingly acknowledging that school dropout, youth unemployment, and social exclusion require structural cross-sector collaboration, which is exactly the foundation CAP-City was built on, a synergy has emerged between this NPO and the wider environment, thus supporting its ambition. On the back of this, Nigel told us: “The future is both exciting and ambitious for CAP-City. We are at a pivotal moment in our development, transitioning from a promising young organisation into a structurally embedded ecosystem builder with lasting impact.” As a result, 2026 will see five new trajectories rolled out under its flagship ‘Learning Outside the Lines’ programme, as well as the expansion of its work with neurodiverse people and the delivery of its first cross-sectors future fair later this summer. This is just the beginning. “We have submitted several significant project proposals, including collaborations with Karel de Grote University of Applied Sciences and the local government, which could substantially scale our capacity and reach over the next two years”, Nigel added. “We want to establish a permanent physical location by 2027, aim to reach at least 3,000 young people through our trajectories and programmes by 2030, issue 5,000 Open Badges through Antwerp City of Learning, and grow into a recognised innovator within Flemish and European education, youth, and employment policy.” Ultimately, what CAP-City is building is a genuine learning ecosystem, an environment that elevates youth employability trajectories by outlasting any project and delivering the continuity that young adults deserve. Education, youth work, business, welfare, and policy have long operated as separate islands, and it is the young people who often fall between the gaps and pay the pay price. CAP-City exists to bridge these gaps permanently. “Every young person deserves a trajectory built around who they are: their talents, their pace, their context, and their potential. That is the ecosystem we are building. That is the future we are working towards.” Contact: Nigel Chantrain Company: CAP-City Web Address: https://cap-city.be/ May26100
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