Bëssen Wëssen – Winners of the Mini-Company Final 2023
Moderated by Loïc Juchem, the event began with an encouraging speech from the Chairman of the Board of Jonk Entrepreneuren Luxembourg, Patrick Wies, who congratulated the young people on their perseverance and commitment. He stressed that participation in the programme is a very valuable experience that prepares young people for their professional future and thanked the schools and ministries for their continued support of the “Mini-Entreprises” programme.
Mr Claude Meisch, Minister for Education, Children and Youth, and Mr Lex Delles, Minister for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, were on site to watch the presentations and congratulate the 16 finalists.
The jury members
The mini-companies were assessed by a panel made up of professionals from the world of work and representatives from the world of education.
- Carole Retter, CEO Moskito et secrétaire générale FJD (Fédération des jeunes dirigeants d’entreprise de Luxembourg)
- Claudine Bettendroffer, Country Leader Silversquare Luxembourg and committee member of FJD
- Claudine Thoma, teacher at the Ecole d’Hôtellerie et de Tourisme du Luxembourg
- Edita Demirovic, Vice-President- Luxembourg Funds Corporate Services Head, Citi
- Eric Busch, CEO & Founder nexten.io
- Georges Krombach, Head of sales and marketing Landewyck and committee member of FJD
- Jonas Bossau, Client Executive, Citi
- Joy Sanchis, teacher at the Lycée Technique d’Ettelbruck
- Laura Martin, teacher at the Lycée du Nord
- Michel Logeling, Managing Partner, Brainplug
- Muriel Morbé, CEO House of Training, Chambre de Commerce and committee member of FJD
- Philippe Weisen, Senior Corporate Advisor, BIL
- Paula Martins, Head of Client Service Team, UBS Europe SE Luxembourg Branch
- Tom Retter, teacher at the Lënster Lycée International School
The podium
- First prize was awarded by Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL) to Bëssen Wëssen from the Lycée Aline Mayrisch.
- Second prize was awarded by the Chamber of Commerce to Beachtime from the Lycée Aline Mayrisch.
- Third prize was awarded by the Chambre des Métiers to Vision Wood from Lycée Michel Lucius.
All three teams also won the Reka Print Startup Package.
BBëssen Wëssen from the Lycée Aline Mayrisch has been voted best mini-company of the year
The “Bëssen Wëssen” team, a mini-company that produced a card game about the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, won first prize in the competition and will represent Luxembourg at the “JA European Company of the Year Competition” as part of the GEN-E festival to be held in Istanbul, Turkey from 11 to 14 July 2023.
The mini-entrepreneurs will be presenting their product, which consists of an innovative card game about the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg designed to facilitate integration into the country in a fun way. The aim is to help people discover the Luxembourg language and culture using cards that highlight the monuments, traditions, events and people of Luxembourg.
The Bëssen Wëssen team is made up of 9 students: Cherine Nothum, Julia Elgarrach, Emma Pardaens, Kim Lanners, Lynn Haupert, Mathieu Vercauteren, Véronique Olinger, Vicky Noben and Yanis Aboummaad. Sandra Thibeau, teacher, and Philippe Linster, CEO House of Startups and coach, accompanied the team throughout the year.
Beachtime
Second prize went to the “Beachtime” team from the Lycée Aline Mayrisch. The aim of this mini-company is to develop, produce and market innovative beach towels with various extra features.
The mini-company is composed of Xavier Reuter, Mathis Reuter, Fynn Arbogast, Alessandro Urzi, Shunit Khanal, Evan Smolen, Max Schlentz, Jeremy Majerus and Bryan Cross. Professor Tom Emeringer and Daniel Araujo, Project Advisor at the House of Entrepreneurship, accompanied the team on this adventure.
Vision Wood
Third prize went to the “Vision Wood” team from the Lycée Michel Lucius. This mini-company designed a charging station that helps keep things tidy and decorates the home beautifully. The mini-company’s second product are wooden Apple Pencil cases.
The team is formed by Lucas Da Silva, Lara Matias, Alessandro Rosa, Ben Weins, Celine Chanson, Abel Parente, Sofia Cruz Soares and Loris Wack. Their teachers Fabienne Kieffer and Fabio Martins accompanied the team throughout the school year.
JEL Alumni awarded 5 Leaderships Awards
For this 22nd edition, the Jonk Entrepreneuren Luxembourg Alumni committee conducted interviews with all the leaders of the mini-companies and presented the Leadership Award to 5 students: Matheo Reinert (Holzkäpp), Liz Paler (de Muppesnack), Mats Jung (AquaCycle), Léane Parjouet (BEELUXE), Olivier Middelkoop (MELLY’S).
The winners can choose to take part in one of the events organised by JEL Alumni, either the Startup Weekend in Leuven or the Startup Weekend in Lausanne.
The Fédération des Jeunes Dirigeants d’Entreprise de Luxembourg has also decided to reward the winners of the Alumni Leadership Award with a monetary prize.