Helping promising entrepreneurs and giving them the means to enter strategic markets is what PwC’s Accelerator aims to.

“PwC’s Accelerator aims to help high-tech companies prioritise their markets, find the right partners and assess the risk and opportunities in their target markets. Making the most of PwC international footprint, we replicated this structure on all continents with the ultimate goal to connect those companies with local partners and hence ease their market penetration,” said Cyrille Foillard, Managing Director of PwC’s Accelerator in Luxembourg.
While Accelerators have already emerged in about 40 countries on all continents, the latest “Local to Global” Expo, historically organised in Luxembourg, took place in Berlin.

“Local to Global” Expos – rising star hunter 
Organised since its launch in Luxembourg, the PwC’s Accelerator “Local to Global” Expo took place in Berlin this year with the same objective to showcase companies and give them the opportunity to meet their market.

Laurent Probst, partner in charge of the PwC's Accelerator network, commented on making this Expo in Berlin:
“Berlin is a tech hub with an increasing number of companies active in ecommerce, social media, big data, cybersecurity and mobile Apps. With major decision centres, new investment funds and serial entrepreneurs, Berlin was the perfect venue for this year’s ‘Local to Global’. The capital is also a strategic location to enter Western Europe and Russia.”

Peter Hoffmann, Leader of PwC’s Accelerator in Germany added:
“We have given fast-growing companies specialising in software solutions for the B2B segment the opportunity to increase their brand awareness and to speed up their expansion into foreign markets through contacts with strategic partners, clients and investors. This trade fair turns out to be a forum for strategic networking.”

Several hundred companies applied for a place at PwC’s “Local to Global” Expo. Based on specific criteria, PwC shortlisted the competition down to twelve companies active in Internet security, enterprise software, business process modelling, big data and predictive analytics for the final. The finalists included BetterWorks, Brainwave, iTiZZiMO, Jedox, leanIX, Movilizer, NavVis, PICS, RapidMiner, Taulia, uberMetrics and WhiteHat Security.
Munich-company NavVis, specialised in 3D visualisations of buildings, and US-company WhiteHat Security, providing ethical hacking solutions to companies, got awarded.

PwC’s Accelerator in Luxembourg pilots a network of +40 accelerators while focusing on companies operating in Enterprise Software / SaaS, Fintech, Cybersecurity and Big data. In less than three years, the Accelerator has already helped +30 companies enter relevant markets and achieve international revenues while building a sustainable corporate structure.