“Being in Luxembourg just makes sense,” says Geoffroy Morgan de Rivery, CEO of Brixio, as he explains why his company chose the Grand Duchy as the location for its global headquarters and European business hub. But let’s start the story from the beginning.
Brixio was founded in 2023 as the result of the merger between three companies in Dubai, Singapore and the Philippines. “I wanted to enlarge the service portfolio of my Dubai-based business. When I met Geoffroy, who was running operations in Singapore and Manilla, we realised that we had a perfect fit,” explains Farid Seddar, Brixio’s Chief Strategy Officer. Today, the company offers flexible and secure offshore IT services in the fields of application development, cloud and cybersecurity.
Expanding in the European market
With Asia as its main production centre, the company has 70% of its customers in the Middle East. The remaining 30% are in Europe, and the two originally French entrepreneurs saw considerable growth opportunities in the EU market. “The shortage of IT talent is a common challenge. While we have access to a fantastic talent pool in the Philippines, full offshoring is not always ideal for clients. With Brixio, we aim to offer the best of both worlds – local delivery of long-term value combined with the expertise of our global team,” says Mr de Rivery.
It is not always easy for a French company to find customers in Germany, or vice versa. But if you are in Luxembourg, you can easily sell in both places.
The company initially considered Singapore as a potential location for its global HQ. “Singapore is a great place for business, but it is very Asia-centric. We realised that we needed to be on the ground in Europe,” Mr de Rivery explains. “We started looking for the most central location, and Luxembourg quickly stood out. In addition to being business-friendly and multicultural, it is at the crossroads between several countries where we want to do business: France, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium.”
Mr Seddar points out that Luxembourg is also a neutral location for companies targeting multiple European countries. “It is not always easy for a French company to find customers in Germany, or vice versa. But if you are in Luxembourg, you can easily sell in both places.”
Cybersecurity solutions for SMEs
To set the wheels in motion, the Brixio management contacted Luxinnovation, Luxembourg’s national innovation agency, whose missions include supporting international innovative companies looking to expand their business in Europe. “Luxinnovation provided us with an in-depth overview of the local ecosystem, introduced us to key contacts in cybersecurity, fintech and other fields, and helped us with practicalities such as connecting with a bank. Our contact person, International Business Developer David Foy, also reassured us regarding the demand for cybersecurity solutions and emphasised the great need among SMEs,” says Mr de Rivery.
Although initially focusing on large companies, Brixio decided to shift its focus to smaller enterprises that struggle to find high-quality cybersecurity solutions within their budgets. Its objective is to bridge the gap between cybersecurity, cloud and development, security and operations, which can be quite daunting for SMEs, in a cost-effective manner. The company recently became an official service delivery partner for Europe, the Middle East and Africa of American cybersecurity group Cloudflare. “This is an important milestone for us, as it reinforces our ability to offer enterprise-grade cybersecurity solutions at a scale and price point suited for SMEs,” Mr de Rivery points out.
International focus
After establishing its global headquarters, Brixio is now in the process of setting up commercial operations in Luxembourg. The plan is to start with 4-5 people here and then develop in line with sales and market traction. The initial focus will be to address the local market and then look to neighbouring countries – without forgetting opportunities further away. “Luxinnovation has presented the many international trade initiatives of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce aimed at helping Luxembourg-based companies expand to new markets across the globe. We are considering benefitting from them in the future,” says Mr Seddar.
Every time I visit Luxembourg, it’s a boost. The place is buzzing with business energy, and the ecosystem is truly exciting.
At the moment, however, the priority is signing the first deals in Luxembourg. “Every time I visit Luxembourg, it’s a boost. The place is buzzing with business energy, and the ecosystem is truly exciting,” Mr de Rivery affirms. “David keeps introducing us to new people, and we have met other startups and scaleups that might become our partners in the future. People here are working together. Instead of fearing competition, they are willing to see how new players can settle and find their own place. This has already helped us on the way.”
Photo credits: Brixio