BPF: Support for innovative international cooperation

The Business Partnership Facility celebrates its 10^th anniversary in 2026. This co-financing tool allows companies to put their technologies or expertise at the service of high-impact projects. These projects can take various forms: feasibility studies in the target country, implementation of pilot versions in new markets, structuring of production chains, or even large-scale deployment of solutions.

BPF: How it works

Launched at the initiative of the Luxembourg State and implemented by LuxDev, the Luxembourg Agency for Development Cooperation, in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, Luxinnovation and the Ministry of the Economy, this scheme provides up to €300,000 (representing a maximum of 50% of the total project cost) for business projects with a sustainable dimension, in partnership with stakeholders from developing countries.

Over the past 10 years, more than 50 projects have been supported in over 20 countries, the vast majority in Africa but also in Europe, mobilising more than €15 million in public and private investment and contributing to the creation of over 2,200 jobs.

Luxinnovation: a BPF partner

Since 2020, Luxinnovation has contributed to the process by evaluating applications from an innovation perspective. Around thirty projects have thus been reviewed by the agency’s experts.

“To support companies in submitting high-quality impact projects within the BPF framework, Luxinnovation offers free guidance on the coherence of the application and the robustness of the plan, particularly regarding economic and innovation aspects,” explains Alexiane Tinant, Advisor – National Funding at Luxinnovation.

e-LMA: Skills transfer and job creation in Kosovo

Among these projects is that of Luxembourg company e-LMA, which specialises in service software for the financial industry. In 2023, after taking part in an economic mission led by the Chamber of Commerce to Kosovo, its CEO, Jabir Chakib, quickly recognised the potential for significant opportunities. “I was surprised by the quality of the exchanges,” he says. “I soon realised that Kosovo, in some respects, resembled Luxembourg: a small, dynamic country with large neighbours. But with one major difference: there is not yet a developed financial centre—neither in infrastructure nor in legislation.”

This led to the idea of joining forces with a local player—Swiss Premium, an IT services company—to offer a back-office solution for the Luxembourg financial sector, based on a local workforce trained in finance professions.

We received valuable advice on developing our budget. Jabir Chakib, e-LMA

Representatives from LuxDev also participated in this economic mission, and the topic of the Business Partnership Facility quickly arose. “There was great interest, not only in the financial aspect, although the co-financing certainly enabled us to launch our operations on site by recruiting a local team and dedicating 20% of its time to training. LuxDev’s ongoing support and guidance also played a significant role, helping us stay aligned with BPF’s development and impact objectives.”

Luxinnovation’s contribution was also decisive, particularly regarding the budget. “We received valuable advice on developing our budget. During a meeting with our partner Swiss Premium and the Ministry of the Economy, we had some very challenging discussions to test the robustness of our project.”

These fruitful exchanges led to the selection of the e-LMA project by the BPF in September 2024, with the award of co-financing amounting to €200,000.