Luxembourg start-up Pingvalue announced on Thursday that it has received financial capital of €1.2 million from a Dutch-based private investment fund to support the growth of its community-based social marketing platform.

The funding, provided by InvestInFuture, will be dedicated to recruitment, software development and marketing of Pingvalue, which is headquartered in Luxembourg. These financial resources will faciliate sequential product launches in citires throughout the Grand Duchy, as well as the wider Benelux region and Europe.

Currently, Pingvalue is presenting its single-platform solution for developing and supporting "smart cities" to relevant candidates, such as Esch-sur-Alzette and Luxembourg in the Grand Duchy; Heerlen in the Netherlands; Ghent in Belgium and Aachen in Germany, with a veiw to contributing to a sustainable future economy.

"We invested in Pingvalue because of the innovative character of the company and we are convinced that it will have a major impact on our daily life," commented Edgard Creemers, General Manager, InvestInFuture.

"With this contribution from InvestInFuture, along with enthusiastic support from our international and local partners, we are well prepared to launch the Pingvalue platform in Luxembourg this summer," said Luciano Scatorchia, Pingvalue CEO and Founder. "We appreciate this show of confidence and will continue to realise our short- and long-term strategic goals."

Pingvalue's free application enables users to discover nearby events, sights or products vetted or recommended by locals and tailored to their unique profiles, tastes and locations. Businesses and organisations, through free or paid memberships, gain access to engagement methods and real-time data.

"Through ongoing interaction with the user, we can take the internet's jumble of infinite information and turn it into spot-on recommendations for how individuals should spend their valuable time and money," Scatorchia continued. "Simultaneously, we let businesses and organisations be part of the conversation, connecting them to specific audiences and using a digital space to make commerce human again."

Pingvalue has received resources and support from multiple partners in Luxembourg and further afield, whilst a close collaboration with LuxInnovation facilitated the integration of the platform locally.

According to the start-up, which was founded in 2014, the Ministry of Economy's new retail strategy, involving the digitalisation of the sector, the monitoring of statistics and its status as the country's virtual point of entry, is testament to Luxembourg's readiness for this form of transformation.

Earlier this year, Pingvalue was accepted to Cisco's innovation technology programme, becoming an official Solution Partner and gaining access to a range of resources. The company aims to reach the next level in the partnership programme and consequently gain access to further advantages.

Scatorchia concluded: "As we near the final phase of local launch preparations, we continue to actively explore B2C partnerships in the UAE and Qatar and will soon open our offices in San Francisco to pursue similar, promising opportunities."