House of Entrepreneurship
On Friday, 12 July, the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts signed a partnership agreement on enhanced collaboration with the House of Entrepreneurship, the one-stop shop for entrepreneurship and businesses in Luxembourg. The signing took place in the presence of the Minister for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Lex Delles, who announced that his ministry will ensure a stronger presence in the one-stop-shop in the future. The common objective is to develop the services offered to entrepreneurs and established managers and to simplify as much as possible the administrative procedures related to the creation and development of businesses.
In 2018, not less than 9,178 entrepreneurs visited the House of Entrepreneurship to request help from the one-stop shop advisors dedicated to entrepreneurship. These figures far exceed the attendance targets set in October 2016 when the one-stop-shop for entrepreneurs was launched in the Kirchberg district. For Luc Frieden, President of the Chamber of Commerce, this initiative, launched with the support of the General Directorate of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises within the Ministry of the Economy in order to bring together under one roof all the stakeholders involved in the creation and development of companies in Luxembourg, is a real success story: ‘Together with the House of Entrepreneurship, the Chamber of Commerce, the Ministry of the Economy and the Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts demonstrate that by working together, it is possible to put in place pragmatic and effective solutions to support entrepreneurship in its most diverse forms. Active support throughout the entire life cycle of business creation, development, international expansion, and transfer is essential for a country and an advanced economy like Luxembourg, which must focus on promoting entrepreneurship and supporting creative minds to create wealth and ensure its sustainable development and prosperity.’
Today, the House of Entrepreneurship brings together 24 partners, all of whom are permanently on site, including the General Directorate for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises of the Ministry of the Economy, the ADEM (Agency for the Development of Employment), the Environment Agency, the SNCI (National Credit and Investment Institution), the IPIL (Intellectual Property Institute), the ITM (Inspectorate of Labour and Mines), and the Ministry of Digitalisation. In total, the House of Entrepreneurship and its partners have recorded more than 87,700 customer contacts since October 2016.
Expansion of the services of the House of Entrepreneurship
To help the House of Entrepreneurship cope with the growing number of clients seeking its services, the Minister for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Lex Delles, announced that he would strengthen the presence of the Ministry of the Economy on site by operating a permanent office at the one-stop shop: ‘The permanent optimisation of the legislative framework surrounding the creation and development of businesses is a fixed objective of the Government. Centralising all administrative procedures related to entrepreneurship in a single place seems to me to be a particularly effective way of advancing administrative simplification and accelerating the establishment and development of companies in Luxembourg. Meeting the challenge of administrative simplification is an everyday struggle that can only be won if we combine all our strengths and efforts. I am thrilled that the Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts has decided, alongside the Ministry of the Economy, to strengthen its support for the House of Entrepreneurship by signing a partnership agreement with the Chamber of Commerce.’
For the President of the Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts, Tom Oberweis, closer collaboration with partners involved in promoting and supporting entrepreneurship was a logical choice: ‘The Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts is a key player in promoting entrepreneurship in Luxembourg. Over the years, it has developed a wide range of advisory services in the creation/transmission and development of craft businesses, particularly at the technological, environmental, economic, social and legal levels. Having had a help desk at the House of Entrepreneurship's one-stop shop for two years, the Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts now offers its quality services from a permanent office. This reinforced presence brings together more and more actors working in the field of entrepreneurship, and will make it possible for us to enhance and complete the consulting assistance we offer. Two of our advisors will be focused on assisting project leaders. This approach is in line with the Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts' logic of being present in the field and always better serving its clients. The proximity with the developers and business leaders of the sector is indeed a cornerstone of our strategy, which is also the basis of our partnership with the single point of contact services for SMEs (Guichet Unique PME) located in the north of the country.’
For more information: www.houseofentrepreneurship.lu