Minister of the Economy Franz Fayot announced the extension of the Fit 4 Resilience strategic recovery programme, initiated by the Ministry of the Economy and managed by Luxinnovation, until 31 December 2021.
Officially launched last May as part of the national economic recovery policy "Neistart Lëtzebuerg", Fit 4 Resilience is a programme aimed at companies particularly affected by the consequences of the COVID pandemic. Its aim is to support companies as they emerge from the crisis and to help them envisage a longer-term development strategy, integrating a more digital, circular and regional approach. It was scheduled to end on 31 December 2020.
"In just a few months, the mobilisation of all sectors of activity around this programme has been remarkable," comments Minister Franz Fayot. "Today, companies are faced with challenges that are sometimes unprecedented. Through Fit 4 Resilience, they can benefit from a relevant analysis of their strengths and weaknesses and identify the actions to be implemented, particularly in terms of digitalisation and sustainability. It was important to give them more time to implement their sometimes quite complex reflections.”
Since the launch of the programme, more than 50 companies have shown an interest. 15 of them have concretely started the process and 3 have completed it. These companies employ a total of more than 1,880 people and are active in the food industry, trade, logistics, crafts, construction, the wood industry and health technology. In addition, 25 consulting firms have been accredited.
The national innovation agency, Luxinnovation, has developed the programme and is in charge of its operational management. "Our role consists of both supporting companies in analysing their problems and liaising with the approved consultants who will be present in the field to implement the process. We also act as an interface with the Ministry of the Economy for subsidy applications," says Sasha Baillie, CEO of Luxinnovation. "We are pleased that the companies will be given more time to take their future into their own hands."
Interested companies will finally be able to apply for participation in the programme until 31 December 2021 via the platform www.fit4resilience.lu.
Testimonials
Instaltec, an SME specialising in heating, sanitation and ventilation, is one of the companies that have applied to the programme. "We wanted to emerge stronger from this crisis and take advantage of the period of lockdown imposed on us to think about a better way of organising ourselves," says Marcel Frick, Managing Director of Instaltec. "The Fit 4 Resilience programme has shown us how we can make our organisation more digital. We have acquired new computer programmes, which will enable us to improve the quality of our services and customer relations. An in-depth market analysis has also made us realise that we should focus more on individual customers who really need our services.”
The same satisfaction is expressed by the Brasserie Nationale: "The health crisis has had a strong impact on our business, with a significant drop in our turnover. The storm we are going through is a catalyst that has forced us to challenge ourselves," explains Frédéric de Radiguès, the General Manager of Brasserie Nationale. "Our objectives were clear: reducing costs through the optimisation of digitalisation and reducing our consumables and our impact on the environment. The Fit 4 Resilience programme set up by Luxinnovation and the support of an external consultant enabled us to identify very innovative efficiency levers.”
Brasserie Nationale now plans to submit a request for financial aid to the Ministry of the Economy, in the context of the new aid scheme for investment projects in the COVID-19 era. An integral part of the "Neistart Lëtzebuerg" economic recovery programme, this aid scheme complements Fit 4 Resilience by encouraging companies that have suffered a drop in turnover to make investments that would have been cancelled or postponed due to the crisis. These investments may concern, in particular, process and organisational innovation projects, as well as energy efficiency projects.
For more information: www.fit4resilience.lu
Released by the ministry of the Economy and Luxinnovation