Chambre de Commerce
On September 16th, the House of Startups welcomed members of the Luxembourg startup ecosystem to its now traditional annual garden party.
This year’s celebrations were opened with a welcoming word from Carlo Thelen, the Director General of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, the key initiator and main sponsor of this project. He spoke of how he is “very proud to be able to say that the House of Startups has become a clear success story.” To date, the House of Startups is hosting more than 170 startups, with 450 entrepreneurs and employees in the various incubators and accelerators in the building. This represents around 90 % of total capacity.
To illustrate the contribution of the House of Startups in bringing the startup topic on the political agenda, it was in the presence of Yuriko Backes, Minister of Finance and Franz Fayot, Minister of the Economy, that the House of Startups celebrated its renewed commitment.
Mrs Backes said “The House of Startups is home to several flagship initiatives, all of which are supported by the Ministry of Finance, with the goal of driving the digital and green transition of our financial centre. These are the Luxembourg House of FinTech, which has so far hosted around 150 Fintech firms; the International Climate Finance Accelerator (ICFA), which has supported 28 innovative climate fund managers since 2018; and the Luxembourg Sustainable Finance Initiative. By bringing this community together in one state-of-the art facility, the House of Startups provides an ideal setting from which to promote innovation and encourage the cross-pollination of ideas.”
Franz Fayot emphasised: “Since its launch in 2018, the House of Startups has undergone a remarkable evolution, just like the Luxembourg ecosystem in general. Hosting between 150 and 200 startups, as well as several incubators, accelerators and innovation centres, the House of Startups has become a key player in the development of the ecosystem over time, offering affordable office space for young innovative companies and several key flagship initiatives. I would like to congratulate all the stakeholders involved in the project. I am happy to hear that the Chamber of Commerce has decided to extend it until 2029. While the Startup Luxembourg platform aims to bring together all the players on a single web platform, the House of Startups brings them together physically in its premises. In this sense, both initiatives are complementary and I am confident that our teams will continue to work closely together.”
Carlo Thelen thanked all the players who made the development of this success story possible. “Behind these brands and structures are the partners and people who make it happen: The Luxembourg-City Incubator, The Luxembourg House of Financial Technology, The Village by CA and The International Climate Finance Accelerator,” he said. He underlined the role of the Ministry of the Economy, the City of Luxembourg, Startup Luxembourg, and the newly created Startup Association, Startups.lu, and the many partners who continue to shape the - still relatively young - Luxembourg startup ecosystem. Their collaboration ensures the development and promotion of a dynamic Luxembourg business environment at the heart of Europe, making it an ideal place in which startups can settle and grow.
While looking back on these achievements, the House of Startups remains committed to building its strengths as it works to face the future: both to the benefit of individual startups and for the entire ecosystem.
The challenges are numerous, not least that the world economy continues to suffer a series of significant shocks that have overturned expectations. The good news is that Luxembourg has many assets it can leverage.
Our main source of resilience is that digitalization and innovation are Luxembourg’s top national priorities. At the same time, we understand that a successful digital transition is not only about having the right infrastructure but also about people. We must invest in developing talent, with training programmes that will be tailored to likely future realities. And it is in the DNA of startups to solve problems and come up with innovative concepts.
Carlo Thelen was very pleased to announce that the Chamber of Commerce has decided to extend the House of Startups project by six additional years, until the end of 2029, hosting its key partners and in the existing building.
“This is a sign of our confidence in the future of innovation in Luxembourg, and our ongoing commitment to supporting and developing this vibrant startup ecosystem,” he said.
The speeches were followed by an Incubator Panel moderated by Philippe Linster, CEO of the House of Startups, featuring Nasir Zubairi (LHoFT), Bastien Berg (Luxembourg-City Incubator), Amélie Madinier (Le Village by CA), and Stephan Peters (ICFA). They highlighted their activities, on-going acceleration programmes and other interactions with the Luxembourg startup ecosystem. Adding a flavour of innovation, Startup founders Florian Feltes, CEO of Zortify, Glenn Lawyer, CEO of Intangic and Marzio Schena, CEO of ANote Music captivated the audience with their entrepreneurial journey.
It was the perfect transition to start the celebrations, “raising the pulse” of the Luxembourg startup ecosystem. Entrepreneurs and approximately 250 guests had the time to party, network and talk about the success story of the House of Startups.
