Your success is our success

The International Affairs division of the Chamber of Commerce is here to support Luxembourg companies with their plans to grow internationally.  This includes tailor-made guidance to target new markets, leveraging available market intelligence and networking opportunities to find new partners.

The Markets team is organised geographically with a local market expert for each region. The team works closely with the worldwide network of Luxembourg Trade & Investment Offices (LTIOs) to ensure you receive optimal support wherever you are looking to expand.

Find out who is who and how we can help.  Scroll down for contact details of the team members or fill out the Contact us form.

Your contact points in Luxembourg

The ‘Markets’ team has a geographical approach with local market experts offering a wide range of networking opportunities for Luxembourg companies to develop business in foreign countries.

 

  • Sabrina Aksil

    Luxembourg

    Markets Coordinator, International Affairs

    international@cc.lu

    +352 42 39 39- 374

     

  • Thomas Bertrand

    Luxembourg

    Senior International Affairs Advisor

    Africa, Europe (South-West)

    +352 42 39 39-337

    africa@cc.lu
    europe@cc.lu

  • Martine Bisenius

    Luxembourg

    International Affairs Advisor

    Africa, Europe (South-West), South and Central America, Oceania

    +352 42 39 39 – 379

    international@cc.lu

    africa@cc.lu

    latinamerica@cc.lu

  • Alissa Dörr

    Luxembourg

    International Affairs Advisor

    France, North America, Maghreb

    +352 42 39 39 – 319

    france@cc.lu

    northamerica@cc.lu

    maghreb@cc.lu

  • Regina Khvastunova

    Luxembourg

    International Affairs Advisor

    +352 42 39 39 – 324

    cis@cc.lu
    europe@cc.lu

  • Georgia Kossmann

    Luxembourg

    International Affairs Advisor

    Europe

    +352 42 39 39 – 357

    europe@cc.lu

     

  • Shi-Bic Na

    Luxembourg

    Senior International Affairs Advisor

    East Asia

    +352 42 39 39 -364

    asia@cc.lu

  • Edith Stein

    Luxembourg

    Senior International Affairs Advisor

    Middle East and Asia

    +352 42 39 39 – 482

    middleeast@cc.lu
    asia@cc.lu

The Luxembourg network abroad

Luxembourg Trade and Invest Offices and Trade Attachés at embassies abroad, coordinated by the Ministry of the Economy.

Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce Trade Offices

Tips from the team to help your international sales

  1. Look for alternative partners (suppliers, transport, distributors, etc.) with the support of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) and its online database of business opportunities. Available in French.
  2. Learn about cultural differences, if you deal with emerging countries, using the tools offered by the free Cube in platform developed in close collaboration with Hofstede Insights which held its last annual conference at the Chamber of Commerce.
  3. When prospecting outside the European Union, look into existing Free Trade Agreements and Customs Unions that can remarkably facilitate the flow of goods and services you intend to sell abroad. The list of existing EU trade agreements can be found here.
  4. Going international can be very enriching but also has its costs : make sure to grow your international business proactively but gradually, whilst focusing on your strategic markets. Balance between expanding mindfully and putting resources in the right places.
  5. Study local customs and memorise key phrases in native language – Just the effort of trying often makes a positive impression. However, always hire a professional interpreter for business meetings and try to brief her/him as much as possible upfront so they know your intentions and can best prepare for your meetings.
  6. Adapt your offer to the market. “Copying and pasting” your offer is not necessarily the best thing to do when you want to develop abroad. A product or service that has worked well in Luxembourg will not have the same success in another country, and even less on another continent. Big brands have understood this and are making adjustments. You will therefore have to pay particular attention to local culture and consumer habits.
  7. Target key customers to gain legitimacy. It is rather difficult to find partners when you are small and unknown. Building legitimacy is one of the key issues for SMEs and often it involves winning key customers in the target market. Rather than seeing the market as a geographic location, focus on these key customers first.
  8. Learn from mistakes (and successes). Develop an incremental approach, step by step, learn from successes and failures to orient yourself towards a more systematic decision-making process.
  9. Focus on local markets: Our Economic and Commercial Attachés based in Germany, in Belgium, and in France, are there to guide and inform you about the arrangements made with our neighbouring countries that could positively impact your business.
  10. Familiarise yourself with public tenders and consult public tender offers, thanks to the tracking service for public tenders offered by the EEN of the Chamber of Commerce and made available free of charge, until the end of 2020.
  11. Have your export contracts and terms of sale drawn up or re-drafted and proofread.
  12. Money Money Money. The currency used in the market you wish to develop can have a strong and surprisingly complex influence on your operations. Consult with foreign currency experts to get a better picture of ​​how the currency of your prospected markets will affect your business.
  13. Start small. While expanding slowly may not seem like the most exciting option, especially when you hope for a substantial growth potential, it is certainly the safest way to go! And once you have successfully developed your first market – keep on going!
  14. Partner up. Consider using local Partners to develop your activities in a foreign market. Promoting your services or products in foreign markets is not easy. Partnering up with a local company will save you office and employment costs whilst tapping into your partner’s network.

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