It’s best to laugh it off… Raymond Devos, who passed away 20 years ago, is no longer here to highlight the absurdity of a situation where Guichet.lu, the gateway for SMEs, promoted and sponsored by the state, has become so complicated that SMEs need help navigating it via an external tool, in this case provided by the Chamber of Commerce’s House of Entrepreneurship.

Admittedly, it would have taken no more than two hours to feed all the relevant state aid literature into the HeyGen interactive avatar creation tool to create an ad hoc chatbot that could have answered any question with ease whilst remaining true to the principles of truth, accuracy and propriety… But until the support from Mistral AI and the promises of administrative simplification and the ‘once-only’ principle – reiterated once again on Tuesday afternoon during the State of the Nation address – become a reality, SME leaders can click on one of the boxes in the infographic presented on Tuesday morning and hope to find the support that meets their needs.

In practical terms, a company looking to invest today in new digital tools, an artificial intelligence project, solar panels, industrial modernisation or energy efficiency improvements may potentially be eligible for a number of different schemes. Some take the form of direct grants, others of tax credits or partial cost coverage. The criteria vary depending on the size of the company, the sector concerned, the nature of the project and the application deadline. Some of the support comes directly from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whilst others are channelled through various specialist programmes or public and semi-public partners.

At the press conference, the House of Entrepreneurship itself acknowledged that “many entrepreneurs and project leaders are still struggling to find their way”, said Stéphanie Damgé. Steps are sometimes taken too late, certain mechanisms remain poorly understood, and the administrative complexity can lead businesses to forego certain forms of support that are actually available.

The minister wants to take things further

The issue is becoming all the more sensitive as the sums involved continue to grow. According to the report presented by the Ministry of the Economy last week, 2,326 applications for aid were approved in 2025, compared with 1,811 a year earlier. In total, €440m in public aid was granted in the form of subsidies and tax credits. The government estimates that these schemes have generated nearly €1.2bn in investment in the Luxembourg economy.

SMEs alone account for 96% of approved applications. There is particularly strong momentum around technology projects. SME Packages relating to digital technology, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity saw significant growth last year, with 533 applications approved compared to 382 in 2024. The government has also amended the terms of these grants to cover up to 70% of eligible costs for certain projects ranging from €3,000 to €25,000.

The energy transition is the other key priority. Funding for environmental and energy projects totalled €172 million in 2025, notably to support industrial electrification, solar power and charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

A guiding role

In this context, the new Financing Unit is set to act as an intermediary and guide in an environment that has become particularly technical. Ten years after its creation, the House of Entrepreneurship explains that it aims to direct businesses towards “the most relevant schemes and partners, at the right stage of their entrepreneurial journey”. The aim is also to streamline relations between government departments and ensure that businesses do not have to submit the same information multiple times.

And since, in their own press release, the Chamber of Commerce and the House of Entrepreneurship ‘forgot’ to mention how to access this service, we would like to point out that it can be found on the House of Entrepreneurship website, under the ‘Solutions’ section, in the ‘I want to finance my business’ sub-section, and you then need to scroll down to the infographic, which is interactive. Each of the 12 boxes is clickable and contains various scenarios, all of which – except for the ‘good to know’ section – link to… Guichet.lu. Unless, that is, you scroll a little further (or have understood the approach), in which case you’ll come across the contact details for the House of Entrepreneurship, which is dedicated to helping our entrepreneurs find the financial support they need.