Go International
The 13th edition of the ICT Spring has closed its doors. Organised by Farvest at Luxexpo the Box, the event this year celebrated the role of technology in catalysing a positive transformation for the future. As a strategic partner, Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce reinforced its presence even more at the event this year.
The “Group Chamber of Commerce” stand showcased all its entities including the House of Entrepreneurship, the House of Startups, the House of Training, the House of Sustainability, the Luxembourg City Incubator, Keyjob & HEC Liege Luxembourg. The stand highlighted the services offered to support its members in their entire entrepreneurial lifecycle including starting up, digital transformation, internationalization, upskilling or reskilling with its panoply of training services, or sustainability with the creation of its new House of Sustainability.
During the event, Carlo Thelen, CEO – Director General of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, continued the tradition of addressing the participants during the Official Talk session. Titled ‘Digitalisation, your journey to a sustainable future’, he emphasised, “Digitalisation & Sustainability must go hand-in-hand. Companies are well aware of the challenges ahead, but they need a conducive environment with robust support measures to boost their transformation. Additionally, to ensure a successful transition, we need talent and hence a genuine talent strategy”.
In order to reinforce an international presence at the ICT Spring, the partners of the Luxembourg Trade & Invest, encompassing the Ministry of Economy, the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and Luxinnovation came together this year to create a common offer for the international delegations. The 15 delegations that came from all corners of the world explored a rich pre-programme on 28th June that was devised to showcase the best of Luxembourg. The morning included a tour of Belval focused on the innovation ecosystem. The afternoon highlighted Luxembourg’s dynamic startup ecosystem with the traditional Inside Startup Luxembourg organised by Startup Luxembourg & hosted at the House of Startups.
Throughout the first day of ICT SPRING, four fireside chats were organised by the Trade & Invest partners. The first focused on Luxembourg’s economy and Startup ecosystem. Later during the day, the second fireside chat showcased how a business focused on sustainability can become profitable. Finally, during the afternoon, the last fireside chat of the day highlighted how to pave the way for innovation. Day 2, focused on SDG goals.
Networking and matchmaking are important facets of trade fair like ICT Spring. Hence the programme was enriched with 2 days of matchmaking with the Go International Business Meetings @ ICT Spring to encourage the international companies to explore collaborations with Luxembourg ones. Organised by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and its Enterprise Europe Network, the 8th edition of Go International Business Meetings @ ICT Spring helped SMEs and start-ups in the ICT community form new connections and meet potential international partners. Thanks to its matchmaking platform which doubles up as the event’s official app, the matchmaking event has become a staple component of the ICT Spring programme. This year over 2700 participants from over 60 countries connected to the platform. Over 650 meetings were requested, and to this number can be added the more than 4500 virtual business cards exchanged on the app
Petra Balladares, Export Consultant at CzechTrade Promotion Agency, mentioned that “the pre-programme offered to delegations was holistic. Czech companies found identified several interesting opportunities during the visit to Belval. The eight innovative Czech companies (working in fields such as cybersecurity, fintech and space technologies) are over satisfied with their participation at ICT Spring and the Go International Business Meetings. Some of them are considering opening a branch in Luxembourg, and they made a lot of useful contacts. Some of the start-ups also had the opportunity to pitch in front of investors.
The international dimension was complemented by a strong cross border focus of the Greater Region. A meeting of the Council of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Greater Region was organized on 30 June. This high-level meeting that encompassed the Directors of the different CCIs and highlighted the potential for bilateral and multilateral economic cooperation between the concerned cross border regions. This meeting was concluded with a networking reception organised by the Greater Region institutional partners in collaboration with the Greater Region cross border network EU Tribe. All the partners & delegations from the Greater Region participated in this networking reception to connect with companies and economic actors from this unique economic cross-border region as well as to pursue their business dialogues in a convivial atmosphere.
In its 13 years of existence, ICT Spring has proven to be an unmissable event in the ICT field, and a great showcase of Luxembourg’s expertise in ICT. Every year, many investors, startups, international movers and shakers are present, making this event a success and a great opportunity, year after year.
