Taking advantage of its recent move to Kirchberg – Luxembourg’s business district – EY has started a program dedicated to startups active in the field of e-commerce, fintech and healthcare. It’s a three-part mentoring program that aims to enable startups to launch successfully.
EYnovation is the name of the new support program recently launched by consulting firm EY in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The program reflects EY’s recent opening of offices in Kirchberg, and matches the company’s views on the outlook of Luxembourg’s economy and that startup ideas deserve to be supported. “In our new environment, we wanted to reinforce our commitment to the national economy and support its ambitions by offering our skills and expertise to innovative entrepreneurial projects,” said Brice Lecoustey, head of the Advisory department for the commercial and public sectors at EY Luxembourg. “With this new site, we want to be more open to startup creators and let them know they are welcome to discuss their projects with us to see how we can support them.” EY will advise and mentor entrepreneurs on projects, particularly in the fields of fintech, e-commerce and digital healthcare. The firm welcomes all entrepreneurs and offers program participants pragmatic support focused in three different critical areas that concern early startups. We discussed the three components of the program with Mr. Lecoustey.
Finalize the founders’ concept of the market
“What usually is lacking for startups, beyond a good idea and the entrepreneurial team to implement it, is a fair balance between supply and the market,” said Mr. Lecoustey. “We want to offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to benefit from an external perspective and expertise, enabling them, before trying to get funded, to refine their concept and strategy.” EY wants to help them better understand the market, structure different strategic growth drivers, including, for example, their marketing and distribution channels, as well as manage any technical issues that arise. “They will benefit, in this context, from both our knowledge of the Luxembourg ecosystem and our international network,” added Mr. Lecoustey.
Access to finance
Secondly, EY assists startups in creating a strong financial plan in order to help the startups get a bank loan, private equity funds or State aid. “We want, at this stage, to enable the startups to meet and speak with those who can help them realize and grow their projects,” explained Mr. Lecoustey.
Operational support
Once financing is obtained, a startup can commence its operations. At this stage, EY intends to support the startup by providing administrative, accounting, tax and legal advice. Mr. Lecoustey shared: “The startup’s administrative obligations should not be neglected. However, they should not monopolize the company’s resources or slow down the company’s development. By encouraging startups to consider those kinds of obligations as “business as usual” tasks, we make handling them easier, and we enable the entrepreneurs to focus on the real value-creating functions, so that their ideas can take off.”
Settled in its new Kirchberg home, EY wants entrepreneurs to know that its doors are open.
