When the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry and Luxembourg House of Financial Technology launched their Catapult Fundtech 360 competition in November 2023, 63 international startups applied. After three months of intensive workshops, Alfi and Lhoft are ready to present three finalists during Alfi’s Global Asset Management Conference, which will be held in Kirchberg .
Delano sat with Isadora Pardo, Alfi’s senior vice president industry affairs, and Annabelle Albert-Fonteneau, Lhoft’s startup growth manager, to find out more about the goals for Catapult Fundtech 360.
A bridge between fintechs and the fund industry
Pardo explained that, while fintech startups are brimming with innovation and disruptive technology solutions, some struggle to connect with their target market in the fund industry. They experience day-to-day operational challenges with tight budgets. The Catapult Fundtech 360 initiative aimed to bridge the gap, she said. “We decided that it was going to be a good idea to put [the two sides] together.”
Elevate Luxembourg’s financial services competitiveness
“The collaboration between Alfi and Lhoft is designed to enhance Luxembourg’s position as a leader in financial innovation,” said Albert-Fonteneau. The initiative seeks to elevate the competitive edge of the financial services industry through technological advancement.
The Catapult Fundtech 360 competition is co-sponsored by Middlegame Ventures, a fintech-focused venture capital firm. “The reason why I decided to create an accelerator for fund tech startups in Luxembourg is simple,” said Pascal Bouvier, Middlegame Ventures’ managing partner. “To find new, nurture and attract new technology solutions and fund tech startups that will help the entire Luxembourg funds industry.”
The selected fintechs fulfil regulatory obligations
“We aim to cultivate fintech innovation that not only meets the immediate needs of the industry but also cements Luxembourg as a leader in global financial services,” Albert-Fonteneau said. The selected fintechs companies served four key areas, she explained, where Lhoft analysis had identified the fund industry was facing difficulties. These fields are: governance workflows and reporting requirements, cyber/risk management, ESG data management and leveraging artificial intelligence/machine learning-driven processes.
Pardo noted that Alfi’s Digital and Fintech Forum assembled a team of industry experts, which was tasked with defining and evaluating the industry's needs that could be addressed by fintech solutions. Over a three-month period, the taskforce conducted workshops, starting with brainstorming sessions to pinpoint key needs and then defining top priorities.
She said three topics emerged as particularly promising for the industry: governance and board-centralised management, counterparties’ oversight, and Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation management and reporting, currently a priority in the sector.
Everyone’s a winner
Albert-Fonteneau said that “we can say all [the participants] are winners because they are going to [get more] publicity…They are going to have such a great visibility”.
She said the winning fintechs would accelerate their success by gaining exclusive access to key figures in Luxembourg’s fund industry through the insights and mentorships provided by Alfi, Lhoft and their networks, helping to navigate regulations, providing marketing strategies and scaling operations.
Padro said Alfi’s digital forum members were particularly looking forward to mentoring the fintechs finalists in a training bootcamp. “During this bootcamp, that will take place the two weeks prior to the conference, subject matter experts within the Alfi membership will be providing knowledge and advice, to help the pre-selected fintechs finetune their solutions and presentation material, prior to the final showcase and selection.”
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This article was published for the Delano Finance newsletter, the weekly source for financial news in Luxembourg. .