On 16 November at the Provincial Palace in Arlon, the 2023 UPGRADE competition saw a melting pot of personalities and nationalities celebrate the achievements of cross-border entrepreneurship. Virtual Rangers’ spin-off Roudy made it to the final of the competition.
Cross-border entrepreneurship is always a good idea, especially if you’re a country the size of Luxembourg or Belgium. That’s why UPGRADE hosted the 5th edition of its competition, highlighting 3 companies from the Greater Region who have aimed at inclusive economic success and regional impact.
“In this region, cross-border cooperation policies, which for a long time have focused on improving mobility, should significantly evolve towards a new stage: that of building a shared territory project between Luxembourg and its neighbouring regions,” said Vincent Hein, director of the Luxembourg think tank IDEA.
The three finalists selected for the UPGRADE 2023 came from the brewing sector (Brasserie Coopérative d’Arlon), the construction sector (BeLodge) and the technology sector (Virtual Rangers). While these sectors could hardly be any different, these projects were selected for their regional aspirations and the values of their founders: Jean-Philippe Aubry for the Brasserie d’Arlon Coopérative project, Mathieu Bracchetti for the Roudy project, a spin-off from Virtual Rangers, Bertrand Marot for the BeLodge project.
Before the awarding of the laureate, Thomas Lambert, Belgium’s Ambassador to Luxembourg, emphasised the extent to which this initiative reflects his conviction in the need for closer and more fruitful ties between the “2 Luxembourgs”.
At the end of the day, Bertrand Marot took home the win with BeLodge, a forward-thinking manufacturer of tailor-made and modular spaces in Belgium, a project that perfectly encapsulated the project reflecting the values of the UPGRADE competition.
The next edition will be launched on 1 May 2024. For more information, see here.
