Digitalisation
Thursday, 10 October 2019, the General Directorate for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises of the Ministry of the Economy, the House of Entrepreneurship of the Chamber of Commerce and Luxinnovation, the national agency for the promotion of innovation, presented a new format for the digitalisation assistance programme, 'Fit 4 Digital Packages', which is designed to support very small enterprises (VSEs), companies with less than 50 employees, in their digital transition by implementing tailor-made solutions. This new project is based on three pillars: pre-analysis and support, implementation of a digital tool, and financial support.
Digital transformation affects all companies because above all it impacts customer relations and is therefore an essential element in terms of strategy. Nevertheless, currently large entreprises are most likely to integrate digital tools. VSEs, on the other hand, are reluctant to implement such procedures, as they do not always know how to evaluate the work and the associated costs.
However, the economic fabric of Luxembourg is mainly composed of VSEs. Their impact on the local economy is indisputable, hence the need to develop a specific programme for them.
At the press conference, Lex Delles, Minister for Small and Medium-Sized Entreprises, highlighted the economic context, 'one of the Government's priorities is to support companies in their digital transformation efforts and thus to increase their competitiveness. It is true that the digitalisation of Luxembourg businesses remains a major challenge, but it is also a source for new opportunities. The Government and other stakeholders in Luxembourg are actively working to enable VSEs and SMEs to seize these opportunities'
A new programme to meet the specific needs of VSEs
Sasha Baillie, CEO of Luxinnovation, stated, 'since the launch of the Fit 4 Digital programme, the various partners have refined the analysis of companies' needs and have decided to set up a service dedicated to VSEs, designed to meet their most immediate needs by the end of an expedited procedure supported by appropriate financing'.
The new 'Fit 4 Digital Packages', which is complementary to the Fit 4 Digital programme, offers VSEs pre-analysis and support through the House of Entrepreneurship's Go Digital team and results in a specific package (e. g., in digital marketing, customer management, or organisation management) to implement a digital tool by an affiliated and experienced provider. The implementation of the digital tool is partly supported by a digital voucher from the Ministry worth up to EUR 5,000.
Mr Fernand Ernster, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce, emphasised, 'our objective is to enable our affiliated companies to follow the evolution of the market while facilitating their access to new technologies. The features and advantages of this new project can be summarised as follows: we provide a service dedicated to interested VSEs, support from a neutral body is guaranteed, implementation is ensured by affiliated and experienced service providers and financial assistance is allocated by the General Directorate for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises of the Ministry of the Economy for the implementation of the selected digital tool'.
First wins
A pilot phase has enabled more than ten companies to undergo digital transformation and a strong interest overall has been shown in participating in the programme. Two entrepreneurs shared their stories at the press conference.
Carole Ewert, Junior Hotel Manager at Hotel Heintz, stated that, 'participation in the Fit 4 Digital Packages programme has allowed us to improve our online presence and more guests can now make online reservations directly on our website'.
Equally, Robert Oesch, Managing Director of Kayser Systems, shared, 'everyone should participate, because there is no 'best time' for digitalisation. What is still good today may already be 'old' tomorrow. For me, it was time to prioritise marketing and customer relations over daily administrative tasks'.
Further information:On 23 October at 18:30, Go Digital of the House of Entrepreneurship will launch the new 'Fit 4 Digital Packages' programme. Anyone interested in the new programme is welcome to join the event to learn more about eligibility and programme details.
Click here to consult the Fit 4 Digital Packages brochure