It was founded in 1908, by among others
Lieven Gevaert as the
Vlaamsch Handelsverbond, to create a Flemish counterpart of the
Federation of Belgian Enterprises, and it became the VEV in 1926. From 1971 to 1993,
René De Feyter was the managing director of the VEV. In 2004, VEV formed an alliance with the
Flemish Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI's) to create . Today, there are still eight Voka - Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI) in Flanders (West Flanders, East Flanders, Antwerp-Waasland, Kempen, Mechelen, Halle-Vilvoorde, Leuven and Limburg). Together with the VEV, these eight CCI's form the Voka-Alliance, the largest Flemish network of enterprises. This 'Voka-Alliance' unites more than 17,000 businesses from all sectors within the
Flemish region. The alliance is politically independent; there is no structural funding from government. It is a non-profit organisation: small, medium and large-sized companies of all sectors everywhere in Flanders can become member on a voluntary basis. ==See also==