LIOF presents its 2024 annual report: strong impact, new opportunities, and 50 years of economic development in Limburg

LIOF's mission: building a smarter, more sustainable and healthier Limburg

The world and the economy are changing rapidly. Trends such as the energy transition, health innovations, increasingly scarce raw materials, digitisation and geopolitical shifts are also affecting the Limburg business community. We are moving towards a new economy in which social impact and economic returns go hand in hand. For entrepreneurs, this means that they must innovate and become more sustainable in order to remain competitive. LIOF supports them in this with advice, networking and financing, and focuses its strategy on four transitions: Energy, Circularity, Health and Digitisation. In doing so, we respond to sectors with potential, such as AI, green technology and dual-use innovation. In this way, we combine economic strengthening with social challenges and, together with regional and international partners, we are building a future-proof Limburg economy.

Annual results 2024: Strong results in a changing economy

Despite a challenging context, LIOF closed 2024 with a positive financial result of €5.2 million, well above expectations. In terms of content, we also achieved or even exceeded our goals for each core task. In 2024, LIOF achieved the following:

· 250 innovation projects, with a total project value of €38.8 million, and six projects related to the Big Science project Einstein Telescope

· 28 new investments in Limburg companies with a value of €14.8 million and €10.5 million return on our investment portfolio. In addition, our investments accounted for €76.7 million in follow-up investments, a multiplier of 5.

· Helping to create 629 new jobs through (foreign) investment projects and 161 international matchmaking opportunities between Limburg SMEs and foreign parties.

New growth market: dual-use technology in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence

A new strategic development is LIOF's commitment to dual-use technology: innovations that have both civil and military applications. In collaboration with the Ministries of Defence and Economic Affairs and Brightlands Chemelot Campus, LIOF signed a letter of intent for structural cooperation. The start-up Mine Kafon, which develops drones to detect landmines, is an example of such a Limburg innovation that is gaining momentum through LIOF.

Smarter energy in business parks: the answer to grid congestion

The energy transition poses urgent questions for entrepreneurs. LIOF is working with partners to make Limburg's business parks more sustainable, including through smart energy hubs: local networks for the generation, storage and distribution of sustainable energy. In 2024, promising locations were identified in all municipalities. With additional government funding, LIOF is accelerating this approach, which is crucial to tackling the problem of grid congestion. Through smart energy hubs, we are looking for innovative solutions to ensure that businesses have sufficient power capacity for their expansion and climate plans.

International programmes open up new markets for Limburg SMEs

As a border region, Limburg has a unique starting position for international cooperation. LIOF actively encourages cross-border entrepreneurship. In 2024, LIOF developed two Euregional programmes for Limburg SMEs that want to innovate with partners from the Belgian or German border region: CrossRoads Flanders-Netherlands and STIPP (SME Transition Innovation Partners Projects). LIOF was also involved in the European Digital Innovation Hub South Netherlands (EDIH), which helped more than 80 companies with digitisation, AI applications and international collaborations. A concrete example is the foreign agritech start-up Luxeed, which, thanks to LIOF's support, settled at the Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo. Their AI-driven weed robot contributes to more sustainable soil management for Limburg farmers and illustrates how internationalisation, innovation and investment come together in a single practical example of economic and social impact.

Half a century of economic development – with an eye on tomorrow

In 2025, LIOF will celebrate its 50th anniversary. What began in 1975 as a response to mine closures and high unemployment has grown into an organisation that has made a significant contribution to the economic development of Limburg. Limburg has been transformed from a province with a mono-economy into an innovative region with a wide range of businesses. Since 1975, LIOF has attracted hundreds of companies to Limburg and helped thousands of entrepreneurs to grow, with high-profile examples such as Vodafone, Social Deal and Dynafix. And we continue to look ahead: with 50 years of experience as a foundation, LIOF is working with its stakeholders on a new Multi-Year Plan 2026–2030 for 2025.

Read the full LIOF annual report for 2024, including interviews, figures and entrepreneurs' stories, on our website: www.liof.nl/over-liof/publicaties.

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