Luxinnovation a rejoint IT Arena 2025 pour soutenir les startups ukrainiennes et renforcer les liens d'innovation à travers l'Europe.
Jean-Michel Gaudron
Representing Luxembourg’s commitment to innovation, Luxinnovation took part in IT Arena 2025, Eastern Europe’s largest tech conference, with a delegation from Luxembourg. Held in Lviv from 25 to 28 September, the event brought together over 6,450 participants from more than 40 countries, including founders, investors and government representatives.
Luxinnovation contributed to four panels and four mentorship sessions, sharing expertise on scale-up strategies, funding pathways and cross-border collaboration. The conference also offered a platform to promote Luxembourg’s Fit 4 Start programme and its innovation ecosystem, positioning the country as a gateway to the European market.
Inna Perepelytsya, Senior Advisor at Luxinnovation, played a key role throughout the event, bringing her expertise to several panels and side sessions. Her contributions addressed critical challenges faced by Ukrainian startups, such as barriers to scaling, emerging funding mechanisms and the need for structured ecosystem support.
During sessions including “Building bridges – Deep tech development in Ukraine and the EU innovation network” and “From startup to scaleup”, she underlined Luxembourg’s position as a strategic entry point to the European market and highlighted the importance of investor engagement and ecosystem development at both national and European levels.
It’s inspiring to see Luxembourg’s support translating into real impact for Ukrainian startups. Inna Perepelytsya, Luxinnovation
Through moderation, mentorship and thought leadership at sessions such as “Luxembourg–Ukraine startup and funding bridge” and “How to create a system from cases”, she fostered dialogue on deep tech development, startup resilience and cross-border collaboration.
“It’s inspiring to see Luxembourg’s support translating into real impact for Ukrainian startups. Innovation thrives through collaboration, and by bringing Europe’s innovation communities closer together,” explained Inna Perepelytsya.
Another highlight of IT Arena was the panel “From war to innovation – Building ecosystem resilience in Ukraine”, which stressed the importance of structural tools, local VC funds and unified EU procurement to unlock startup potential. The session also featured the announcement of a €1 million EU–France grant programme to support early-stage deep tech startups.
The EU-funded Seeds of Bravery programme (UASEEDs) which helps Ukrainian startups integrate into the European innovation landscape, played a major role during the event. As leader of Work Package 5 (EU–UA Gateway), Luxinnovation continues to strengthen connections between ecosystems.
Luxembourg stands ready to bridge Ukrainian innovation with the wider European market. Evgeniya Paliy, LUCC
One of the programme’s standout beneficiaries was HEFT, an AI-powered livestock management startup that won second place in the IT Arena Startup Competition. Supported by UASEEDs, HEFT received a USD10,000 prize and demonstrated the strength of Ukraine’s deep tech talent on the international stage.
Organised by the Luxembourg–Ukraine Chamber of Commerce (LUCC), Luxembourg’s delegation at IT Arena 2025 showcased the country’s commitment to digital sovereignty, secure infrastructure and innovation ecosystems.
“Luxembourg stands ready to bridge Ukrainian innovation with the wider European market, turning shared vision and resilience into sustainable growth through trust and innovation,” said Evgeniya Paliy, President of the LUCC.
The event paved the way for new partnerships, investment opportunities and forward-looking initiatives designed to deepen collaboration between Ukraine, Luxembourg and the wider European innovation community. It also reaffirmed Luxembourg’s role as a trusted partner in European innovation and a dedicated supporter of Ukraine’s tech-driven future.
