Madison-based startup accelerator gener8tor has launched an international partnership program with the country of Luxembourg.
This week, the nation’s Ministry of Economy, Franz Fayot announced the program during the opening of the first economic mission to Wisconsin. The virtual event, held March 29-31, is a partnership between the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, the Luxembourg House of Fintech, and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) to strengthen collaboration and trade between the two regions, according to a release from the department.
During the session, Fayot discussed the historical ties between Luxembourg and Wisconsin, which became home to an influx of Luxembourgers in the 19th century, and estimated that nearly 350,000 descendents of Luxembourg immigrants still live in the state today.
Wisconsin’s central geographic location and global recognition for its research and development in biosciences, medical devices and drugs, water tech, energy, and manufacturing make it a prime destination for international business, he said.
As Luxembourg aims to serve as the “gateway” to European markets, the economic mission is largely focused on increased collaboration in three areas: clean technologies, fintech, and the startup and innovation ecosystem.
“Wisconsin hosts a lot of interesting companies that could use Luxembourg as their entry door into Europe,” Fayot said in the speech. “We have put in place a number of public initiatives and dedicated programs to develop a supportive, open start-up ecosystem.”
The country’s ecosystem includes roughly 400 startups and more than 15 incubators and accelerators, and its favorable business climate has attracted many U.S. companies including Amazon, PayPal, Goodyear, DuPont and PayPal, that have all established headquarters or innovation centers in the Grand-Duchy, Fayot added.
Now, the country is looking to grow in the United States. The three-week digital program in collaboration with Luxinnovation and gener8tor will allow five Luxembourgish startups to explore business expansion into American markets through the state of Wisconsin, each year.
The accelerator will include workshops, courses, and mentorship opportunities, as well as meetings with local entrepreneurs, investors, and companies. The program is expected to launch this summer and is an addition to similar programming aimed at bolstering Luxembourg startups in San Francisco and New York, the release added.
“I am sure that with the talent of our startups, the expertise of gener8tor and the support of the very active community of descendents of Grand-Duchy immigrants to Wisconsin, this program will prove to be a great success on both sides of the pond,” he said.
The three day economic mission event featured 85 speakers and more than 200 participants. It included sessions dedicated to water technologies, a roundtable discussing the future of banks and insurance beyond the blockchain, as well as strategies to collaborate across the regions’ respective startup ecosystems.
Luc Frieden, president of the Chamber of Commerce, Missy Hughes, CEO of WEDC, and Gov. Tony Evers also spoke at the event.
