CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa Program 2018

Application Deadline: Tuesday 25th September 2018

CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa is a 1 week training and networking Bootcamp, hosted in Luxembourg between 5th and 9th November 2018, for 12 Fintech firms working to improve financial inclusion in Africa. The program is run in English. Travel and accommodation costs for the participating Fintech companies will be covered.

Building on the success of previous experience, CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa is a unique program of Fintech startup development from the LHoFT, aligned with sustainability goals of Luxembourg’s finance centre. CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa will leverage Luxembourg’s Inclusive Finance and Fintech ecosystem to support the 12 selected firms in developing their businesses and achieving their inclusion goals

When?

1 week training and networking Bootcamp, hosted in Luxembourg in November 2018, for 12 Fintech firms working to improve financial inclusion in Africa.

Who?

The Bootcamp will leverage Luxembourg’s Inclusive Finance and Fintech ecosystem to support the 12 selected firms in developing their businesses and achieving their inclusion goals.

Why?

Fintech as a tool to bolster financial inclusion by helping banks and microfinance institutions to become more efficient and effective in reaching underserved market segments.

What?

Building on the success and experience of the Fincluders bootcamp in 2017, Catapult Inclusion Africa is a unique program aligned with the sustainability goals of Luxembourg’s financial centre.

How?

Delivered in collaboration with key stakeholders from the microfinance, sustainable finance and traditional finance sectors.

Get Involved!

Participate in CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa.

A unique opportunity to develop your company and seek investment.

Criteria:

Startups selected could range from pre-seed to Series A stage. In general, the bootcamp is stage-agnostic as it aims to further support promising early-stage startups in the fintech for financial inclusion space and create synergies between them, partners, sponsors, investors, Microfinance institutions (MFI) and Public Financial Institutions (PFIs).

► Must be a Fintech company with a clear financial inclusion focus

►Should ideally be a solution that is directly beneficial to work in partnership with a traditional financial institution and/or MFI/PFI

►Must be delivering a solution directly applicable to the target region: Africa

►Should have a minimum viable product already that it would be capable to implement in a pilot project

►Should have meaningful customer or business validation (not limited to revenue, can also be successful pilot studies, number of users, and/or strategic partnerships)

►Must have a strong and well-balanced team. Key areas such as sales, technology development and operations should be covered internally

►Prior funding raised is an advantage but is not a limiting factor for the selection.

Application DEADLINE : Tuesday 25th September

Announcement of the 12 Fintech selected : Friday 28th September

CATAPULT Africa is provided by the LHoFT (The Luxembourg House of Financial Technology). The LHoFT Foundation is a public – private sector initiative that drives technology innovation for Luxembourg’s financial services industry, connecting the domestic and international Fintech community to develop solutions that shape the world of tomorrow.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa Program 2018