AI optimism and fear as entrepreneurship rises in Luxembourg

A new report from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), produced by STATEC with the Ministry of the Economy and the Chamber of Commerce, shows that 9.9% of residents were launching or involved in a new business in 2024, up from 7% in 2022. The rise marks a steady recovery from the pandemic.

The fear of failure among potential founders fell to a record low of 41%, yet anxieties remain: 44% of entrepreneurs expect slower growth than last year – the highest level of growth pessimism recorded in Europe.

Source: GEM 2024 2025 - Total Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity rate (% of population). / © STATEC

AI divides opinion

For the first time, GEM Luxembourg asked entrepreneurs about AI. Thirty-four per cent of early-stage founders said AI was “very important” to their business, compared with a European average of 22%.

Optimism dominates: 68% expect AI to raise productivity and efficiency – again the highest proportion in Europe, where the average stands at 46%. However, 58% of responders believe AI could harm their business because of risks to data security and privacy, which is considerably higher than the European average of 45%.

Source: GEM 2024 2025 - Share of entrepreneurs who declared that AI can improve productivity and efficiency of operations (% of TEA) / © STATEC

Sustainability and social impact

Luxembourg’s entrepreneurs also lead Europe on sustainability goals. Fifty-four per cent said they were actively reducing their environmental impact, and 66% were seeking to maximise social impact, representing the highest rates across participating countries.

Source: GEM 2024 2025 - Share of entrepreneurs who declared to have taken steps to maximize the social impact of their business over the previous year (% of TEA) / © STATEC

Entrepreneurship demographics

Entrepreneurship in Luxembourg remains less driven by necessity than elsewhere: 39% of respondents said they started a business due to lack of employment options, compared with the EU average of 57%.

Gender differences widened in 2024. 13.3% of men were engaged in early-stage entrepreneurship compared with 6.4% of women, which is a larger gap than the year before, when figures stood at 10.6% and 8.7% respectively.

Immigrants remain more likely than native residents to start a business, at 11.7% versus 7%.

Barriers to growth

Access to workspace and finance continues to hinder expansion. Fifty-five per cent of resident entrepreneurs and 67% of cross-border founders said affordable office space was hard to find. Half of residents and a third of non-residents reported difficulty securing funding.

The GEM Luxembourg Report 2024/2025 was presented on 16 October 2025 at the House of Entrepreneurship in Kirchberg. The study surveyed 2,000 residents aged 18 to 64 to assess business creation, confidence, and barriers in Luxembourg’s start-up ecosystem.