Luxembourg might just be the most international country in the EU – and this makes it the perfect place to develop and scale startups in Europe. With a global population, the country is home to a diverse spectrum of cultures and languages, the essential ingredients for startup success.
Developing and scaling a globally successful startup requires taking an international approach from the beginning. Being conscious of bringing in a diverse range of opinions, addressing diverse language needs, and being able to localize your solution or product is the key to becoming a success story. All of this is made much easier when expanding from an international hub like Luxembourg.
Part of the beauty of Europe is undoubtedly its cultural richness. Made up of different countries each with their own unique language, traditional history and heritage, Europe is a melting pot of diversity. Tapping into this diverse market requires understanding it – and getting this right needs to begin with a carefully considered first step.
Global SCM Networks Procurement Director Tolga Tomruk, Vodafone Procurement Company
Luxembourg is an ideal place to address the challenge of tapping into such a diverse market. The small nation is Europe’s most international and inhabitants speak on average 3.6 languages – the highest future in the EU. On top of this, 47% of the population is made up of foreign nationals, and with 200,000 cross-border workers, almost three-quarters of the workforce is international.
This available talent pool is ideal for setting up teams able to deal with customers from any European country in their own languages and culture.
Making Luxembourg your startup home enables you to access a multicultural and diverse group of people and a talent pool. It’s a nation that has a long tradition of welcoming diverse and international perspectives. Embracing diversity is inherent to the nation’s innovation success, reflecting a belief that sharing diverse perspectives leads to better outcomes.
The country is a global talent hub, ranking number one in the world for highly skilled employment. Talent is attracted to Luxembourg for its stable, high-income economy, dynamic startup community, geographical location as the beating heart of Europe, and renowned excellent quality of life.
There is also an interesting job market here for those who wish to stay long-term and develop their international career. The cosmopolitan environment makes it easy for expatriates to settle quickly.
For Vodafone Procurement Company (VPC), founded in Luxembourg in 2008, it’s this whole-hearted embrace of diversity and multi-linguistic that has made Luxembourg the best place to scale from.
Global SCM Networks Procurement Director Tolga Tomruk: “Building this entity here has been a success for Vodafone. The cultural diversity of our team means that we can speak nearly every language that we interact with and understand how business is made in each specific region and country.”
Luxembourg’s unique multiculturalism has been one of the defining reasons that startup Tadaweb has enjoyed success. The startup, which began its story in 2011 with one employee and an investment of €70k, has since scaled to a company with about 100 team members, offices in London, Paris and Ottawa.
For this team, accessing Luxembourg’s linguistic diversity has been fundamental to growth.
Tadaweb Co-founder Genna Elvin stated:“In the beginning, the main language spoken in our offices was French. As the team grew, we needed to change our dialogue to English and invested a lot in language courses to facilitate this transition. However, having so many cultures and nationalities has been great. Our staff offer very different takes on how products should be developed, how meetings should be run and how the company should grow. They really challenge the traditional way of doing things, which is completely beneficial for us.”
Meet the Luxinnovation team at Web Summit (1-4 November) this year! Contact them now and arrange a meeting!
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