These are some of the findings of the 2017/2018 Global Entrepreneurship Monitoring (GEM) country report for Luxembourg, presented on 30 January 2019. GEM’s study of the impact of government initiatives such as the accelerator programme Fit 4 Start, the entrepreneurship programme Fit 4 Entrepreneurship that targets job seekers and the support structure nyuko are testimony to these positive conclusions: 13% of the population indicated that their interest in entrepreneurship was increased by policies. One third of entrepreneurs also declared that they had benefited from training programmes on entrepreneurship in secondary school, and almost half of them after leaving school.
High proportion of innovative start-ups
According to the GEM study, 50% of Luxembourg start-ups are innovative. This is the highest proportion in Europe which has an average of 28.7%. 25% of established companies are considered as innovative.
The proportion of entrepreneurs in Luxembourg out of the total population is also high: 9.3% in 2017, compared with the European average of 8.3%. The share of entrepreneurs among men (12.5%) was higher than among women (5.9%). Male entrepreneurs tend to focus on manufacturing industries and business services, while women are more active in education, health and other services.
Room for improvement
The study found that the limited availability of financing and resources such as office space and qualified human resources are perceived as the main barriers to entrepreneurship. Family and friends are the primary source of financing for start-ups, and the majority of entrepreneurs need external sources of funding.