Lancr builds a verified digital identity for freelancers with itsme
New Belgian platform links digital identity, company data and professional reputation in one profile that freelancers can use across various professional environments.
.jpeg "Lancr founders: (from left to right) Peter De Buck, Khalid Neffari & Wout Vanhee")
Antwerp, 15 September 2026 - Digital identity can today confirm who someone is, but professional reputation remains largely scattered across CVs, platforms, references and self-declared profiles.
The new Belgian platform Lancr wants to bring the two closer together with one verified professional identity for freelancers. With itsme as identity foundation, Lancr links the identity of the person behind a freelancer profile to company data. On top of that, professional experience, references and administrative information are further built up.
The result is a profile that is not tied to a single marketplace or client, but is managed by the freelancer themselves and can be used within various professional environments.
From digital identity to professional reputation
“Digital identity has taken enormous strides in recent years, but our professional reputation is still scattered across different places. With Lancr we want to bring those two worlds closer together. Not yet another profile that stays on one platform, but a professional identity that belongs to the freelancer.” - Khalid Neffari, co-founder of Lancr
Three Layers of Trust
Lancr builds the profile through three Layers of Trust. The first layer verifies identity via itsme and links it to company data from the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (KBO). The second layer substantiates quality with verified references, portfolio and certificates. The third layer collects additional administrative information, such as relevant insurance documents.
This way Lancr makes visible the distinction between information someone provides themselves and information that has actually been verified.
itsme as identity foundation
The first layer of trust begins with itsme. Where itsme confirms who the person behind the profile is, Lancr builds on that with company data, professional experience and reputation.
"Companies still lose too much time manually checking documents when hiring external workers. With itsme as the digital foundation beneath Lancr, we make that onboarding frictionless and watertight. That is crucial in a fast-growing freelance market, where speed and compliance must go hand in hand." - Ramses Bossuyt, Chief Revenue Officer at itsme
Connecting-Expertise as first partner
Connecting-Expertise is the first partner. Through the integration, clients can consult freelancers' current Lancr verification badge at any moment within their hiring process. In this way the verification status becomes visible not only within Lancr itself, but also in the environment where clients actually work with freelancers.
At the same time, Lancr creates an additional inflow channel of verified freelancers from its community towards the Connecting-Expertise ecosystem.
Alongside Connecting-Expertise, UNIZO, Freelancers in Belgium, FreelanceMatch and PIA Go / PIA Group are also joining as founding partners. Where Connecting-Expertise brings verification into the hiring process, UNIZO, as the organisation for self-employed entrepreneurs, anchors Lancr in the broader community of the self-employed. Freelancers in Belgium and FreelanceMatch activate the freelancers themselves through their communities and help professionals find their way to Lancr and to the project requests of the connected partners.
PIA, in turn, supports freelancers with their bookkeeping and administration: PIA Go combines digital bookkeeping with the guidance of a real accountant for sole proprietors, while companies can turn to PIA Group's local accountancy offices. Together, these partners strengthen the Lancr ecosystem, from an additional inflow of verified freelancers to administrative support.
Lancr does not position itself as a classic marketplace or job portal and takes no commission on assignments or rates. The ambition is that a freelancer's verification status also becomes usable within other professional platforms and processes.
Launch on 15 september
The technology targets a growing market. According to the 2025 Freelancer Focus Report by our partner UNIZO, Flanders and Brussels now count 234,466 freelancers and solo entrepreneurs, 7 percent more than a year earlier and more than 30 percent more than five years ago.
From 15 September 2026, freelancers can create their Lancr profile. The first layer, in which identity and company data are verified, is free.
Other features are also available for free, including consulting and clicking through to project requests from the connected partners, as well as a rate benchmark that gives freelancers more insight into their position in the market.
After the launch, Lancr aims to build further connections with other platforms, service providers and organisations that work with freelancers.
The ambition is clear: to build a verified professional identity that is not tied to one platform, but travels with the freelancer.
Verified once. Trusted everywhere.
About Lancr
Lancr is an Antwerp-based start-up building a verified professional identity for freelancers. Through different Layers of Trust, the platform distinguishes between information provided by freelancers themselves and information that has been independently verified. These layers cover identity and business details, professional quality through verified references, experience, portfolios and certifications, and additional administrative information such as insurance documents, certificates and other compliance documents. This allows freelancers to build their professional reputation once and carry it across different clients. Lancr was founded in 2026 and officially launches on 15 September 2026. More information at www.lancr.eu.
