LHoFT

LHoFT Crisis Thought Leadership - Communications in times of crisis - Walking the fine line
2020-04-17 12:00 - 14:00 UTC
Description
Leadership in times of crisis: Improving your SME organisational agility using communications. Are you worried about your cash flows? Employee retention? Customer satisfaction?
If so, how much of an agile leader are you at this time? If so, how are you doing with your communications and engagement these days?
Are you ready to face a question from your current employees and customers of

“How did you handle the pandemic?”
“How did you treat them?”
“What exactly were the steps you took to make your SME relevant, hopeful, results-oriented?”

Learning Outcomes:

Times of crises and adversity are not a threat, but rather a huge opportunity for growth for SMEs. While every other company bankrupts, you keep going.
True Leadership characteristics are rising to the top. Be that SME that can win the Covid-19 fight!
Seek out & employ passionate leaders ready to embrace the unknown. They will bring in Transparency, Clarity, Re-assurance, Security and a Direction, simply by caring, cutting to the chase, setting criteria, checking understanding and truly committing to the bottom line.
Shift to a No Fear mentality. Adopt to a Growth and Experimentation Mindset culture. Learn to engage, adopt, innovate no matter what.
Break down communication barriers. Encourage participation at all levels. Give people a voice and a purpose.

Meet Vassilia:
Vassilia is a Crisis Communications Strategist, a Digital & traditional Content & Comms Lead, a Diplomacy Mediator and Leadership Coach.
Her line of expertise lies in crisis communications & journalism, investigative reporting, social media, PR, Media Relations, Innovation, Startups, Diplomacy & International Relations, peacekeeping, peacebuilding and human/child trafficking.
To-date she has cooperated with many companies, such as Deloitte, Ecorys, the Starwood and Marriott network, European Dynamics SA, Bloomberg LP, Beckerman PR and Keating & Co PR having served equally the US and EU markets. Her press-network extends to the EU and the US markets.

LHoFT and Allen & Overy Webinar - Covid 19: Your Legal Guide in a time of crisis - Episode 2 - 30 minutes
2020-04-10 13:00 - 15:00
Description
LHoFT and Allen & Overy Webinar – Covid 19: Your Legal Guide in a time of crisis
Episode 2: Managing your workforce and key HR issues caused by the Covid-19 outbreak with Allen&Overy, featuring Maurice Macchi, Senior Associate Allen & Overy
The Covid-19 virus outbreak has created an unprecedented disruption on a global scale across the entire business community. This disruption raises a number of significant legal challenges for companies regardless of their sector or size. In its efforts to help Luxembourg companies tackle the disruptive effect of Covid-19, the Luxembourg government has taken numerous emergency measures: special family leave, state-backed partial unemployment, possibility to increase working duration, interruption of parental leave, etc.
During this webinar, Maurice will focus on the following three situations:
· You are still able to pursue your activities more or less normally: can you still ask your employees to work in your premises? what are the points of attention when working remotely?
· You are suffering from a reduction of your activities: what tools are at your disposal to manage your workforce? how to minimize the financial impact?
· You may face several HR issues as an indirect consequence of the pandemic: how to plan the employee’s ordinary holidays? how to sign HR documents while working remotely? how to communicate with staff representatives?
Duration: 30 minutes

Maurice Macchi, Senior Associate Luxembourg
Maurice specialises in employment law matters and has an extensive experience in a wide range of subjects, notably in drafting contractual documentation (employment contracts, internal policies, flexible compensation and working time arrangements) and advising on individual termination issues (including settlement negotiations and litigation procedures), collective redundancy procedures (social plan) and transfer of undertakings (notably in M&A and outsourcing transactions) and complementary pension schemes.
He joined Allen & Overy in 2014. He holds a Master 1 Droit de l’entreprise and a Master 2 Droit du travail et de la protection sociale, both obtained at the Université Nancy 2. He also holds a Licence en Droit from the same University. Prior to joining Allen & Overy, he worked for more than 2 years in an independent business law firm in Luxembourg.

LHoFT and Allen&Overy Webinar - Covid 19: Your Legal Guide in a time of crisis - Episode 1 - 30 minutes
2020-04-03 12:00 - 13:00
Description
LHoFT and Allen&Overy Webinar – Covid 19: Your Legal Guide in a time of crisis
Episode 1: Managing your governance and contractual obligations with Allen&Overy, featuring Jacques Graas
The COVID 19 virus outbreak has created an unprecedented disruption on a global scale across the entire business community. This disruption raises a number of significant legal challenges for companies regardless of their sector or size.
During this webinar, Jacques will focus on three key areas of concern:
· Corporate governance: how to organize board and shareholder meetings and generally maintain good governance in the times of confinement?
· M&A transactions: what happens with arrangements pending between signing and closing? Can you still go ahead with planned transactions?
· Interactions with commercial counterparties (clients, suppliers,…): can contractual obligations be suspended because of a force majeure event?
Duration: 30 minutes
You would like to ask a question to Jacques, then drop an email at antony.martini@lhoft.lu, prior to the webinar.
Meet our speaker:
Jacques has experience of a wide range of cross-border public and private M&A and corporate transactions across all sectors with a specific focus on financial institutions, asset management, real estate, and private equity. Over the last years, he has advised on some of the major FIG M&A transactions in Luxembourg. Jacques also regularly advises actors from the public sector in Luxembourg. He heads our local FIG/Banking working group and is an active member of our local Real Estate taskforce as well as our FinTech task force, supporting clients from established financial institutions, incumbents and start-ups.
“Jacques Graas is lauded by his clients for his dedication, with one interviewee stating: ‘He has a very hands-on approach, he follows up on all our projects and he is extremely reliable.’ Graas is very active on M&A transactional work, acting on both the seller and the buyer side.”

Seedstars Summit - The Entrepreneurship Forum For Emerging Markets
2020-04-02 - 2020-04-03
Description
Seedstars Summit – The Entrepreneurship Forum For Emerging Markets
The world is full of opportunities for Impact Investing
84% of the world’s population is located in emerging markets. Naturally, in order to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 defined by the UN, the focus, support and investments need to shift from developed regions to emerging markets. We decided to lead this initiative by leveraging entrepreneurship and technology.
Attending the Seedstars Summit is the best way to discover the most promising startups, the unicorns-to-be from Africa, Latin America, Asia, Middle East, North Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe; while at the same time learning about the tech trends in those regions and accessing a word-class network of global changemakers!
Impact investment opportunities are everywhere, you just need to know how to leverage them.

Discover more about the Seedstars Summit 2020 HERE
Check out the Agenda HERE
Check out the speakers and panelists HERE

The 101 on Recruitment - Vol. 2
2020-04-01 12:00 - 17:00

Adem Recruitment Best Practices - Vol.2
2020-03-25 12:00 - 18:00
Description
During the Masterclass with Laurent Peusch, you’ll be introduced to the specific measures developed by the ADEM aiming at helping both candidates and employers to find their way in a constantly evolving labor market, where it is crucial to be listening to all its players and to pay attention to new technology trends, whose impact are far from negligible.
The Masterclass main takeaways:

Luxembourg labor market – key figures
The Employers’ department
Skills shortage – Talent attraction
Third-country nationals

Meet Laurent Peusch: After graduating from technical school for health profession in 2004, Laurent Peusch worked for a short time in the hospital sector. In 2005, Laurent Peusch joined the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the Directorate of Immigration at the Department of third-country workers. In 2007, after 2 years Peusch Laurent joined the foreign employment department at the Luxemburgish Public Employment Services, where he was promoted head of department in 2012. In 2016, the foreign employment department has been integrated into the employer department where Laurent Peusch became the deputy head and still responsible for all matters related to the third-country nationals and the asylum seekers.

LHoFT webinar - Accelerated Startup & SME Covid-19 support measures
2020-03-25 12:00 - 17:00
Description
This first info session with spokespeople from the Ministry of Economy and BCEE introduces you to the latest governmental and banking measures in support of our Fintech community impacted by Covid-19.
Learn about already implemented and expected support schemes and ask your questions during a live Q&A on Wed, March 25th at 12h00. Those aids have either been developed by the entities individually or in conjunction with ADEM.
Agenda:

12h00 – 12h10: Opening words on the current Covid-19 crisis by Nasir Zubairi, CEO of the LHoFT
12h10 – 12h25: “Governmental support schemes for Startups and SMEs” with Frederic Becker, Fintech Advisor and Lead R&D Researcher at the Ministry of Economy
12h25 – 12h40: “Accelerated support measures for Startups and SMEs ” with Jean-Luc Bermes, Head of SME Financing and Lead Coordinator of the EIF InnovFin Guarantee at the BCEE
12h40 – 1h00: “ Live Q&A” (Please prepare your questions during the presentations and post them in the chat bracket during the Live Q&A)

REGISTER HERE
Meet our contributors:
Frederic Becker is fintech advisor at the Ministry of the Economy. As such, he is in charge of the development of R&D activities in Luxembourg’s leading financial center. Prior to this, Frederic was taking care of the development of the fintech ecosystem at Luxembourg for Finance. Since the Covid-19 breakout, Frederic researches its economic impact on SMEs and advises on support measures and implementations.
Jean-Luc Bermes is Head of SME and Real Estate Financing at BCEE since 2014. He is also Business Angel investing since 2017. Among his different roles at BCEE, he is in charge of adopting the EIF InnovFin Guarantee Framework and is actively involved in the set-up and implementation of the BCEE Covid-19 support measures.
We are also inviting you to already download the “LUXEMBOURG COVID-19 SUPPORT FOR SMEs GUIDE” to get immediate information on what has been done so far, on the link below.
/luxembourg-covid19-support-for-smes-your-guide

How to Hire Global IT Talent in Luxembourg
2020-03-18 12:00 - 18:00
Description
How to hire global IT Talent
Hiring great IT talent in Luxembourg is one of the biggest challenges of the financial sector and by Fintechs in particular.
That’s why we have invited Luxembourg n°1 IT recruiter, Valentina Brysina from DoclerHolding, who will share DH’s recruitment best practices.
During the seminar, Valentina will dive into how DoclerHolding became Luxembourg n°1 IT recruiter, employing in less than 5 years more than 250 people, from 30 different nationalities, out of which 150 are highly skilled IT developers and IT experts.
What you will learn

DH initial first recruitment challenges and how they overcame them
What strategy should be put in place for hiring global IT Talent effectively
Key metrics to evaluate your IT team
What’s next for the IT talent sector

Meet Valentina:
Ms Brysina was born in Ukraine and moved to Luxembourg in 2016 to join the Docler Holding Tech Recruitment team. In 2018, she was promoted to the role of Services Manager to implement the Docler Recruitment Services project. Over the last few years, Valentina and the team have earned their reputation as 1of the leading Tech Talent Recruiter in Luxembourg.

ALFI European Asset Management Conference
2020-03-17 - 2020-03-18
Description
Asset manager ─ investor ─ service provider ─ regulator
Join the European asset management community – including investors, asset managers, fund administrators and fund selectors – in Luxembourg to share, analyse and debate the most topical industry matters.
Highlights of the agenda

Product evolution: PEPP, ELTIF and more
Value assessments
Tech transformation
Investors in the focus: needs of institutional and retail investors
Financial education and long-term savings
The third-party ManCo universe and managed services
Workforce of the future
AI in the face of regulation
EU-UK relationship in 2020 and beyond

Why attend?

Join some 700 delegates from more than 35 countries at THE event which puts asset managers and investors centre stage
Learn how to best navigate the current industry environment
Benefit from numerous networking opportunities with top representatives of the international asset management industry all gathered in one place
Use the opportunity to engage with the ALFI community representing the second-largest investment fund domicile in the world
The event will provide ample opportunity to network with key representatives of the international asset management community.

Agenda, More Info and Ticketing HERE

Switzerland Mission
2020-03-10 - 2020-03-11
Description
GENEVA 2020
Luxembourg for Finance will host a seminar on Tuesday, 10 March 2020 in Geneva honoured by the presence of HE Pierre Gramegna, Minister of Finance.
The event will take a deep dive into asset servicing for independent wealth managers and provide an overview of how the Swiss wealth management industry can leverage Luxembourg’s toolbox to serve clients in Europe and beyond.
Agenda
09:00 – Accueil & Café
09:30 – Mot de Bienvenue
Philipp von Restorff, Directeur Général Adjoint, Luxembourg for Finance
09:35 – Le Futur du Secteur Financier Européen dans l’ère post-Brexit
S.E. Pierre Gramegna, Ministre des Finances, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg
09:55 – L’Avenir des Services Financiers
Alex Panican, Head of Partnerships and Ecosystem, Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (The LHoFT)
10:10 – La Place Financière Luxembourgeoise Aujourd’hui et Demain
Philipp von Restorff, Directeur Général Adjoint, Luxembourg for Finance
10:20 – Solutions Luxembourgeoises pour Gestionnaires de Fortune Suisse
Modérateur: Yves Maas, CEO, Association des banques et banquiers Luxembourg (ABBL)
Christian Kremer, Associé Senior, Clifford Chance
Stanislas Peel, Responsable du Conseil patrimonial, Groupe Lombard Odier et Membre de la direction, LO Patrimonia
Stéphane Ries, Head of Business Development, Quintet Luxembourg
11:00 – Pause-Café
11:20 – Tendances dans la Structuration Patrimoniale
Modérateur: Serge Weyland, Directeur Général, Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management Luxembourg
Adina Grigoriu, Co-fondatrice et Directrice Générale, Active Asset Allocation
Serge Krancenblum, Président, Association Luxembourgeoise des Family Offices (LAFO)
Jérôme Wigny, Associé, Elvinger Hoss Prussen
12:00 – Etude de Cas – L’Assurance-Vie, Plus qu’une Simple Solution de Planification de Patrimoine et de Succession
Sandrine Chabrerie, Directrice des Affaires Européennes & Membre du Comité de Direction, Association des Compagnies d’Assurances et de Réassurances (ACA)
12:30 – Cocktail Déjeunatoire
———————
ZURICH 2020
Luxembourg for Finance will host a seminar on Wednesday, 11 March 2020 in Zurich honoured by the presence of HE Pierre Gramegna, Minister of Finance.
The event will take a deep dive into asset servicing for independent wealth managers and provide an overview of how the Swiss wealth management industry can leverage Luxembourg’s toolbox to serve clients in Europe and beyond.

Fintech Friday - Special Catapult: Inclusion Africa
2020-03-06 18:30 - 21:00
Description
Dear Innovators, Partners & Friends,
We are excited to invite you to our very special Fintech Friday, Catapult: Inclusion Africa
Building on the success of the 2018 edition of CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa, we are excited to launch the second edition of this unique program of Fintech startup development. Developed by the LHoFT Foundation and supported by the Ministry of Foreign & European Affairs – Directorate for Development and Humanitarian affairs, the program targets companies focusing on financial inclusion in Africa, aiming to build bridges between Africa and Europe, highlighting their initiatives and very much aligned with the sustainability goals of Luxembourg’s finance centre.
Come and join us on Friday 6th of March for an Exclusive Fintech Friday and a great Award Ceremony to conclude a week of immersion, learning and networking in presence of new Minister of Economy and Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Mr Franz Fayot.
Agenda:
> 6:15 pm: Opening of Fintech Friday & Jury Deliberation
> 6.45 – 7:00 pm: Award Ceremony
> 7:00 pm – 10:15: Walking Dinner and Networking event
10:30 pm: Closing

This is a private event. Please request your invitation by sending an email to info@lhoft.lu
About:
Fintech Friday is Luxembourg’s fastest growing (and coolest) Fintech networking event, bringing together Fintech entrepreneurs, executives, VCs, Fintech enthusiasts and business angels.
Wakanda Forever

CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa 2020
2020-03-01 - 2020-03-08
Description
CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa 2020
Bootcamp for 12 Inclusive Fintech Companies
CATAPULT is a 1-week training and networking bootcamp, hosted in Luxembourg between 1st and 8th of March 2020, for 12 Fintech companies working to develop 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, we are proud to launch the 2nd edition of the CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa. This acceleration program is a unique one-week program supporting 12 selected Fintech companies from all over Africa focusing on financial inclusion and keen to build bridges between Africa and Europe, highlighting their initiatives and very much aligned with the sustainability goals of Luxembourg’s finance centre, where the potential is huge.
Application DEADLINE is Wednesday 15th of January >> http://catapult.lu
CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa will cover a range of broad topics, including business model mapping, scaling strategies, peer due diligence processes, investability, business plan presentation, legal strategy, pricing, HR policy, marketing strategy, and more.
In parallel, the bootcamp will support the promotion of Fintech for Financial Inclusion topic to the broader Responsible Finance sector in Luxembourg and beyond, to include PFIs, MFIs, Fund Managers, Philanthropists, Advisory and Support firms. The goal is to highlight and promote synergies, collaboration and potential partnerships between the participating Fintechs and these institutions.
Finally, the bootcamp aims to promote and draw attention to the importance and value of Fintech for Financial Inclusion, through local and international media exposure, with the goal of focusing broad attention to the initiatives that are driving positive change in Africa.
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.

Get the chance to be immersed in an exclusive program supporting YOU to enhance financial inclusiveness and scale your business
APPLY NOW at >> http://catapult.lu
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.

Growth Hack through applied storytelling
2020-02-26 12:00 - 15:00
Description

Get the fundamentals to build content strategy
Use storytelling as a differentiator and a driver of good brand reputation
Learn why earned media still matters, but owned media matters most

Luis is a multifaceted professional who holds a Master Degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the university of Luxembourg. He has more than 18 years’ experience in varied fields, ranging from engineering and HR consulting to communication. Since 2012, he has focused his career on digital marketing. His specialty is content marketing and business storytelling, with a particular emphasis on social networks and blogging. He is also a UX design and data visualisation enthusiast. During the last four years, Luis has been working as a trainer at PwC’s Academy where he delivers training on social media and content strategy to clients from different economic sectors. He designs both the content and the workshops.
About himself, he confesses “I want to be an architect of stories, the ones that force you to stop while reading, because you feel like sipping your glass of wine”.

Fintech Friday - St. Valentine's Day
2020-02-14 17:30 - 19:00
Description
Dear Innovators, Partners & Friends,
We are excited to invite you and your partner to our “Fintech Friday, St Valentine’s Day” sponsored by Docler Holding. Singles allowed!
For this special edition, three award-winning women entrepreneurs will pitch their venture to you.
Agenda:
5h30 – Open door to Fintech Friday, St Valentine’s Day – Big Bang
6h30 – Welcome Note by Nasir Zubairi, CEO, Co-Founder of LHoFT
6h35 – Keynote by Márton Fülöp, CIO, COO of Docler Holding Luxembourg
6h45 – Startup Pitches:

Butterflx FX (Redefining the way 76.5 million small businesses in Southeast Asia engage with finance) by Co-Founder Marisha Naz, MBA graduate from University of Oxford;
i-Warranty (Reducing electronic waste and enhancing circular economy through sustainable warranty eco-systems) by Founder and CEO Ruby Pillai, PhD from University of Cambridge;
b4Finance (Fixing the nightmare of new European regulations on the blockchain) by CEO and Founder, Gabriella Paciu, KPMG Fintech Award semi-finalist; Willa Women in Fintech award winner.

6h55 – Epic Networking – As usual finger-food and drinks will be served.
Don’t blink and take your memorable St Valentine picture in our Fintech Friday booth corner run by our beloved Eric Devillet.
9h00 – 10h30 Novotel Red Square Fintech Friday after-party (only for Fintech Friday attendees)
About:
Fintech Friday is Luxembourg’s fastest growing (and coolest) Fintech networking event, bringing together Fintech entrepreneurs, executives, VCs, Fintech enthusiasts and business angels.
We LHoFT Fintechs!

Unicorn vs Teletubbies - A Masterclass with Frank Schmit, Head of Fundraising @RedCrossLuxembourg
2020-02-14 16:00 - 17:00
Description
Learn how to use and develop old-fashioned FMCG sales and negotiation to deliver sales & revenue growth. Meet and challenge Frank Schmit, currently Head of Fundraising at the Luxembourgish Red Cross, and former Sales, Marketing and Product Executive for P&G, Tango Tele2 and Luxair Luxembourg airlines. Frank, who likes to considerer himself a Teletubbie, will share with you his view on how to put into practice the principles of FMCG sales, marketing and negotiation and how to switch off and reconnect to the digital world, in order to build a successful commercial strategy.
On the agenda

How to fail in 3 steps (or what absolutely not to do!)
Think out of the box and step back!
How to sell in a consumer market: the basics for a successful sales & marketing strategy
Are you a “good” salesperson? “Persuasive selling; Negotiate without negotiating; Deal or No-Deal”
Case Study: The 5 No’s case (Or: “Why and how was successfully implemented “Digicash” as payment method for Red Cross”)

The workshop will be animated by some role-plays, so be prepared to challenge a Teletubbies
Meet Frank
Frank Schmit started his professional life as postman in Luxembourg, before building himself a strong experience in sales, marketing and communication. He was Head of Marketing, Sales and Communication of Biopsytec, the first Luxembourgish Biotech Start-up, and managed to launch their innovative food-traceability solution all over Europe, before joining P&G as Sales & Business Manager. During his career he held executives roles in sales & marketing in high competitive environments, trying to deliver paradigm changes by applying common sense as breakthrough initiative.

The good, the bad and the ugly on mobile apps UX Design
2020-02-05 12:00 - 17:00
Description
Book your hot seat with David Renoux, CEO of neopixl.
He will guide you through typical use cases on how UX design should be used in the design process to build strong and sticky mobile applications.
You will take away three fundamentals on how to get the job done.

Which tools from UXD to use, and when
Some pitfalls about UX workshops
Tips on mobile app delivery combined with UX design process

Learn from the best in the game:
David Renoux has spent 15 years developing innovative solutions. He had the opportunity to design mobile apps for retail, finance, healthcare, government, telecom and others. David is very much engaged and hands on from initial product concept to product launch, often times wearing many hats. He always works with a cross functional team members composed of engineers, marketers and designers. He puts the end user back at the center of concerns and draws on their constructive comments to facilitate the design process. He has a passion for pushing design boundaries while maintaining projects realistic and stick on delivery commitment.
What is neopixl?
neopixl is a leading digital agency specialized in the development of mobile and web applications in Luxembourg since 2011 combining technical and UX Design expertise. Having joined the Group Smile, European leader in Open Source Innovation, neopixl became a knowledge centre, delivering more than 40 applications per year in Europe. neopixl is also specialized in training UX Designers from beginners to advanced at universities and corporates. Their accredited training is offered in Luxembourg, Morocco, France and Belgium. With over 1700 “smiliens”, they serve their clients at each step of the transformation cycle.
