"The economic environment is changing, companies have to adapt and we also have to adapt to help them in a more efficient way", explained Sasha Baillie (here next to Franz Fayot, Minister of Economy, during the press conference), CEO of Luxinnovation. (Photo: Luxinnovation)

"The economic environment is changing, companies have to adapt and we also have to adapt to help them in a more efficient way", explained Sasha Baillie (here next to Franz Fayot, Minister of Economy, during the press conference), CEO of Luxinnovation.  (Photo: Luxinnovation)

Economy minister Franz Fayot and Luxinnovation CEO Sasha Baillie on Monday presented the redesign of its “Fit 4” programmes to make them more fit for purpose to support small and medium-sized enterprises.

The “Fit 4” programmes allow SMEs to benefit from support in terms of both public subsidies and expert advice. The aim of the redesign is to make the programmes even more responsive to the specific needs of businesses.

“The aim of this overhaul is twofold,” said Fayot (LSAP). “Firstly, to simplify programmes that were not always readable, because there were too many of them (about ten “Fit4s” were available, editor's note). And secondly, to introduce a certain number of innovations within them, deduced in part from the lessons learned during these two major current crises, namely the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.”

Three strategic pillars

The programmes will henceforth be organised around three pillars: digitalisation (Fit 4 Digital), innovation (Fit 4 Innovation) and sustainability (Fit 4 Sustainability). These three strategic priorities are directly linked to those of the Luxembourg government and Europe.

On the back of its success--the Fit 4 Digital package had attracted 314 SMEs by 2021--this programme could be extended to areas such as cybersecurity or artificial intelligence, two current major trends.

Fit 4 Innovation, the programme enabling SMEs to improve their operational performance, will be enriched, in the medium term, with two components. The first aims to support companies in their transition to new business models, while the second is aimed more specifically at the health technology sector, so that they fully understand the medical regulatory expectations governing this market.

Finally, Fit 4 Sustainability will be launched to enable companies of all sizes to become more sustainable in their approach. “Its scope covers actions to reduce the carbon footprint, develop the use of renewable energies, make better use of energy, implement circular approaches according to the 4Rs principles (reduce, reuse, repair, recycle), or reduce the use of resources and minimise the production of waste,” explained Luxinnovation.

Its CEO, , added: “The economic environment is changing, companies have to adapt and we also have to adapt to help them more efficiently.”

Fit 4 Start does not change

But while the Fit 4s are being revamped, the national agency's startup acceleration programme, Fit 4 Start, is not.

“Fit 4 start is an international competition (usually biennial) around a theme, with a call for applications from start-ups. Whereas the ‘Fit 4’ programmes that we are reforming are performance programmes reserved for SMEs. They are therefore two very different types of programmes, with different logics and targets,” said Baillie, admitting that the name of the competition could indeed lead to confusion.

Fit 4 Start attracted 255 start-ups during the last call for tenders, with a total of 35 selected in 2021 having benefitted from the programme.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.