7th edition of BeNeLux Catalyst kicked off at House of Luxembourg

BeNeLux Catalyst 2026, made possible by BelCham, the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York, and the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office in New York, kicked off this Monday morning. Over the next two weeks, a cohort of Benelux startups will work on their US market entry — selling into the US, setting up, fundraising, hiring, and pitching to investors.
 

The BeNeLux Catalyst is a no-equity accelerator program for high-growth tech start-ups and scale-ups working together to kick-start their international growth. During an intense two weeks, they work with local experts, mentors and peers to validate the companies’ plans and fill in the blanks. Throughout this no-equity accelerator program designed for high-growth startups and scale-ups from the Benelux region, startups catalyze their international expansion to New York. Week one is all about foundations: set up and sell. The program benefits are company-specific matchmaking and personal introductions, presentations and workshops by experts and service providers, knowledge sharing and peer mentoring by fellow entrepreneurs, and access to the larger NYC entrepreneurial community through events.

Organized in collaboration with the BelCham - The Belgian American Chamber of Commerce in the USA, Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office New York, Luxinnovation GIE, LRM and supported by Pierson Ferdinand LLP & Aprio.

At the kick-off, there was great energy in the room as the founders introduced themselves and their companies in a brief one-minute pitch. Scaling internationally into the US requires tenacity and determination from the companies, key and trusted partners are therefore valuable resources.

We welcome:
· Essembl: Viktor Dufour & Valentin Dufour
· Fanfinity Agency: Wouter Maenhaut
· summie: Nathalie Bais & Martijn Bais
· MyHives: Anniek van Veldhuizen & Nelson T. Ajulo, PhD
· InnoFluidics: Sertan Sukas & Özlem Sardan Sukas
· Uplift360: Sam Staincliffe & Jamie Meighan
· MindScreenerBCI: Holly Posner, MD, MS

To our partners & friends: if there is anyone that these founders cannot miss during their time in NYC, please feel free to reach out and pay it forward!