The Chamber of Commerce launched the House of Startups (HoST) in June 2018 with the aim of creating a federating venue for an innovation ecosystem. One year later, the HoST, with its 4 incubators and more than 100 startups, has become a focal point for innovation in Luxembourg. The initial objective has therefore been reached and a new phase has begun for the House of Startups, which now aims to offer several concrete initiatives for Luxembourg’s innovation ecosystem.
by: Silicon Luxembourg
photo: House of Startups
featured: press conference at HoST
Inaugurated on 1 June 2018, the House of Startups (HoST) took off with a bang and today continues full speed ahead as they sail past their first year anniversary – just like a startup!
When the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce created the HoST, its vision was to make it a driving force for innovation in Luxembourg. To achieve this goal, an iconic and federating venue was necessary.
Happy birthday @host_lu ! 1 year already ! Read more on: https://t.co/TceVCgcKhL#ccluxembourg #startups #birthday #theplacetobe pic.twitter.com/4BjvVMHeEH
— Chambre de Commerce du Luxembourg (@ccluxembourg) 3 juin 2019
Creating a meeting place for innovation
Barely a year after its inauguration, it’s done! Today, the HoST is home to 4 key players in innovation: the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT); the Luxembourg-City Incubator (LCI); the International Climate Finance Accelerator (ICFA Luxembourg); and the Hub@Luxembourg.
Each one of these entities has managed to become a unique pole of attraction. The LHoFT is now considered a key player in FinTech and is running at full capacity. The LCI, created by the Chamber of Commerce with the support of the City of Luxembourg, features a list of startups from sectors such as urbantech, commerce, tourism, logistics, and construction. Equally, ICFA Luxembourg and Hub@Luxembourg are supporting the implementation of 10 new climate funds.
“The House has become a central meeting point for innovation, hosting an average of 30 events and some 1,000 visitors per month, including many official foreign delegations. In addition, the House of Startups has consistently participated alongside other ecosystem players at local and international events. As part of the process, the Chamber of Commerce has launched an incubator club (INCLU), whose vision is to identify and implement solutions for the improvement of the startup ecosystem in Luxembourg,’ confirms Carlo Thelen, Director General of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce.
#Breaking: House of Startups @host_lu celebrates its first anniversary. A lot of great milestones reached so far and tones of upcoming projects. More info soon on @SiliconLux #startup #luxembourg #europe #digital #tech #innovation pic.twitter.com/1LbidFmPNG
— Silicon Luxembourg (@SiliconLux) 3 juin 2019
Developing services for the ecosystem and established businesses
HoST is not only a federating player of an ecosystem and the manager of an iconic venue. It also aims to provide services and support to startups, including building bridges with businesses throughout the country. In recent months, a significant number of services have been developed.
These are aimed in part at startups, such as the fundraising shop, which has become a renowned intermediary for advice and assistance for startups in their search for public or private funding. In terms of coaching, the HoST has set up the Luxembourg Acceleration Bootcamp (LAB), whose objective is to provide startups with assistance in financing and European expansion. Furthermore, a CheckPoint space has been created within the HoST for startups from the Luxembourg ecosystem where half a dozen experts in marketing, IT, accounting, legal advice, etc., can be consulted.
Established companies looking to further innovate can also benefit from the HoST’s Luxembourg Open Innovation Club (LOIC). Supported by the principal local innovation hubs (Luxinnovation, Technoport, LHoFT, LCI, lux future lab, Paul Wurth Incub, Neobuild and Hub@Luxembourg), the LOIC proposes member activities on subjects related to innovation. An essential element of the HoST’s strategy, the LOIC makes it possible to build bridges between established players of the economy and startup newcomers. The number of LOIC members has almost doubled in the last 12 months.
Most recently, the HoST has created EU-TRIBE, a project which aims to connect key innovation players from Luxembourg, Rhineland Palatinate, Saarland, Lorraine and Wallonia. The idea of EU-TRIBE is to federate an innovation market of critical size between the two big poles of attraction for startups, Paris and Berlin, which constitutes a technological megalopolis of some 1,500 startups and many competence centres, to attract not only startups, but also financiers and potential customers.
“We are extremely proud of all that we have accomplished within this first year. Our mission is to be a driving force for the innovation ecosystem in Luxembourg. This first year only consolidates our desire to make Luxembourg’s innovation ecosystem stronger and internationally recognized,” concludes Karin Schintgen, CEO of the House of Startups.
