The Minister of Cooperation and Humanitarian Action, Franz Fayot, and Carlo Thelen, CEO / Director General of the Chamber of Commerce, launched last Friday, February 28, 2020, the 5th edition of the Luxembourg Business Partnership Facility (BPF). Organised at the Chamber of Commerce, the event was attended by nearly 130 people, the vast majority of whom were entrepreneurs. BIM e-Solutions and UPTION, two companies that benefited from the initiative, gave an update about their experience to an interested audience.
BPF is a financing facility aimed at encouraging the Luxembourg and European private sector to cooperate with partners in developing countries to set up sustainable commercial projects. Co-financing takes the form of a donation which can reach up to 50% of the total budget of a project, without however exceeding the threshold of 200,000 euros. It contributes to the development and creation of jobs in developing countries and / or to the transfer of technology.
Several sectors are eligible: CleanTech, eco-innovation and circular economy; Space; Fintech; HealthTech; Mobility and Logistics; Information and communication technologies (ICT).
Minister Fayot explained the role, responsibility and opportunities for the private sector to build these new markets and help address the challenges of sustainable development. He also highlighted the many benefits of these partnerships for the private sector, particularly in terms of job creation, innovation, investment and capacity building.
Carlo Thelen, for his part, reiterated the support of the Chamber of Commerce and underlined the excellent collaboration between the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Action, LuxDev, the Ministry of the Economy and the Chamber of Commerce in the context of the BPF: “This intelligently combines the tools of the Directorate of Cooperation with the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of the Economy in promoting internationalisation.”
Representatives of BIM e-Solutions and UPTION, two companies that benefited from BPF in previous editions, testified to their respective experiences during a panel discussion, followed by questions from participants.
The call for applications for the 2020 edition of BPF is open until May 8, 2020.
Information is available at: www.bpf.lu.