What motivated the British Ladies Club to launch this women-focused pitching event in Luxembourg?
Amy Grech. – “This really came about from conversations we have had with many of our members over the past couple of years. We have a lot of talented women within the club, and some of them had strong ideas, but felt nervous about setting up a business or turning an idea into something commercially viable.
Often, the idea was there, but the administrative side felt too daunting: setting up a company, opening a bank account, understanding what the first steps should be. Some women were happy to speak about their projects privately, on a one-to-one basis, but the step towards presenting them publicly felt much bigger.
We really want to demystify entrepreneurship and make it feel more accessible.
That is where we felt there might be a gap. Luxembourg has a very strong startup ecosystem, but not every early-stage idea naturally fits into existing frameworks immediately. We wanted to create a safe, supportive but still professional environment where women could structure their ideas and gain confidence.
There is a moment where an idea moves from being something at the back of your mind to becoming: ‘No, I am building a business.’ That is the transformation we want to help with. The objective is not really just to win a prize. It is to help women move from idea to execution.
What concrete support does the event offer beyond the pitch itself?
“For us, this is much more than a pitch competition. We wanted to support applicants throughout the process, not simply ask them to come on stage and present. The first step was the application itself. We made it simple and direct, but structured enough to help applicants clarify their idea. That is already useful because it helps them think about their market, their feasibility and how they would explain the project elsewhere, whether for funding or future programmes.
Four finalists have been selected for this first edition: Olga Meaurault, with Go-To-Market – The Revenue AI Growth Flow; Mariya Erokhina, with EyeTrustAI; Roksana Skubis, with Réaclyse; and Jess Bauldry, with EarGlasses. Other applicants who were not selected as finalists have also been invited to attend the evening.
The finalists will be supported by two mentors: Svetlana Grishankova, a finance and ESG professional, LSE alumna and PwC Dragons’ Den prize winner; and Julie Ayres Smith, a transformation and operations specialist with experience in international organisations, focused on execution and scalability. The point is not to change the idea. It is to help participants refine how they present it, how they communicate it and how they bring out the substance of the project. That is what builds confidence.
The jury will be chaired by Joanne Olivier, the British Ambassador to Luxembourg, alongside 
The aim is to have practical impact and to help as many women and communities as possible.
The House of Entrepreneurship will contribute to an information segment on setting up a company in Luxembourg, while Banque Raiffeisen Luxembourg will address banking and company financing for newly established businesses. These are often the questions people are most nervous about at the beginning. Nobody necessarily teaches you how to open a business bank account or set up a company, unless you already come from a legal or financial background.
The winner will receive a €500 cash prize donated by a former BLC chair, while the second prize is a startup course offered by the Polish Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg.
We really want to demystify entrepreneurship and make it feel more accessible.
Why do you believe this kind of initiative matters in Luxembourg today?
“Luxembourg already has a strong startup ecosystem. I cannot say that enough. There is support, there are institutions, there is funding and there is a very active entrepreneurial environment. But there is still a step between discussing an idea privately and presenting it publicly in a structured environment. Many women are building strong ideas quietly, sometimes alongside careers or family responsibilities, and they may not always feel they have access to the same visibility or networks.
Events like this create that visibility in a structured and supportive way. They allow women to present their ideas, receive professional feedback and become part of the wider entrepreneurial conversation. The evaluation criteria reflect that approach. The jury will look at the clarity of the problem, the value proposition, the target market, feasibility, revenue logic, innovation and pitch quality. So it is not only about having an interesting idea; it is also about showing how it can work in practice.
It is also important that the event is open to everybody. It is women-focused, but not women-only. It is open to all genders and all nationalities. That reflects Luxembourg itself. For the club, this is also part of a broader evolution. The British Ladies Club has always been about community, connection and supporting women in Luxembourg. This is not a departure from that mission; it is an extension of it.
We hope to make this pitching event an annual initiative and continue expanding the mentoring and partnership side of it over time. The aim is to have practical impact and help as many women and communities as possible.”
