Franz Fayot advocates strengthening relations between start-up ecosystems during the State visit to Portugal

As part of the economic mission organised on the occasion of the State visit of TRHs the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess to Portugal, the Minister of the Economy, Franz Fayot, made the welcome address at an event dedicated to the mutual discovery of the start-up ecosystems of Luxembourg and Portugal in Lisbon on Wednesday 11 May. 

Entitled "Interconnected ecosystems driving entrepreneurship and innovation”, the event highlighted the strengths of the two ecosystems and introduced several Luxembourg and Portuguese start-ups who presented their innovative and technological solutions. The event brought together more than 120 participants.

With fairly young yet very dynamic start-up ecosystems, Luxembourg and Portugal have followed sometimes similar and sometimes different paths over the past 10 years to build the foundations of a favorable economic environment for innovative entrepreneurs. Following the visit of the Portuguese Minister of the Economy to Luxembourg in 2017, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed, initiating a reinforced collaboration and today's event further strengthens the links between the two countries' start-up ecosystems.

“It is now essential to further develop interactions”

During the event, after a video presentation of the Luxembourg ecosystem, the Minister for the Economy, Franz Fayot, spoke about the development of Luxembourg start-ups, the number of which has grown steadily thanks to the implementation of the Fit 4 start acceleration programme. Since July 2021, www.startupluxembourg.com acts as a platform dedicated to the ecosystem, bringing together all the players, i.e. over 500 start-ups and some 14 public and private incubators.

The Minister of Economy said: “Luxembourg and Portugal not only share the same values but also the same ambitions. Like the Portuguese government, the Luxembourg government is committed to supporting the start-up ecosystem. After the official launch of www.startupluxembourg.com in July 2021, it is now essential to further develop interactions with other ecosystems and Portugal is a partner of choice in this context. Today's event is a perfect opportunity to strengthen our relationship.”

His speech was followed by that of Luc Frieden, President of the Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the House of Startups Luxembourg, the largest startup hosting infrastructure in Luxembourg.

A true start-up institution in Portugal, the Lisbon incubator and accelerator, Startup Lisboa, was then invited to one of the two round tables with the participation of its Membership Manager, Pedro Teixeira. For his part, Jean-Michel Ludwig, Director of Business Development at Luxinnovation, recalled the central role of the Fit 4 Start acceleration programme in the structuring of the Luxembourg start-up ecosystem.

Crucial to the dynamism of a start-up ecosystem, the issue of financing was also discussed during a second round table moderated by Luis Galveias, chief operating officer (COO) of the Luxembourg Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (LPEA), in which investors from both countries participated.

Afterwards, several presentations of Luxembourg and Portuguese start-ups offering innovative and technological solutions animated the event.

Finally, Antonio Dias Martins, Executive Director of Startup Portugal, also co-organiser of the event, gave a closing speech, drawing a portrait of the Portuguese ecosystem, ranked 12th in the top 100 emerging ecosystems and which counts almost 2,150 startups and 150 incubators and accelerators.

Released by the ministry of the Economy and Luxinnovation