Supported by Luxembourg’s principal financial associations, the LPEA (Luxembourg Private Equity & Venture Capital Association), ABBL (The Luxembourg Bankers’ Association), ACA (Association of Insurance Companies of Luxembourg), ALFI (Luxembourg Association for Investment Funds), LuxCMA (Luxembourg Capital Markets Association), LuxSE (Luxembourg Stock Exchange), and L3A (The Luxembourg Alternative Administrators Association), alongside a host of leading financial institutions, the program represents a groundbreaking effort to foster innovation and mutualisation within Luxembourg’s financial services ecosystem. 

Luxembourg’s Finance Minister Gilles Roth declared: “The launch of the inaugural Catapult: Future Foundation program marks a significant step in our commitment to fortify Luxembourg’s financial sector through collaborative innovation. By seeking advanced data and document exchange solutions, we aim to enhance operational efficiency and foster seamless interactions among financial institutions, their clients, and service providers. This initiative underscores our dedication to maintaining Luxembourg’s position at the forefront of financial services, leveraging digitalisation as a key enabler for sustainable growth.”

A Vision for Collaborative Transformation

The Catapult: Future Foundation Program aims to address critical issues facing financial services by developing shared, mutualised technology solutions that can be used across the industry. For its inaugural edition, the program will focus on addressing the need for a cutting-edge platform that enables seamless and secure data and document exchange between actors in the financial services industry.

Guided by a Steering Committee of Luxembourg industry leaders, the program seeks proposals for solutions that will help reduce costs, drive efficiency, and improve client experiences while also meeting the highest standards of data privacy, cyber resilience and regulatory compliance.

Luxembourg: A Global Leader in Financial Innovation

As a world-class hub for financial services, Luxembourg combines an innovation-friendly environment with a strong regulatory framework, making it an ideal base for transformative projects. This initiative builds on Luxembourg’s legacy of leadership by fostering public-private collaboration to address industry-wide challenges. By prioritising security, compliance, and interoperability, the program underscores Luxembourg’s commitment to shaping the future of financial services.

Nasir Zubairi, CEO of the LHoFT Foundation, remarks: “Innovation thrives when collaboration is at the core. The Catapult: Future Foundation Program epitomises Luxembourg’s unique ability to bring together diverse stakeholders to address complex challenges with mutualised solutions. This program is a bold step forward in ensuring our financial ecosystem remains efficient, secure, and globally competitive. We appreciate the support of the institutions and associations that have worked hard over the past months to define the requirements. Now it’s time for the technology companies, big and small, to step up and answer the call.”

A Platform for Action

The Catapult: Future Foundation Program goes beyond traditional accelerator programs, offering a unique platform for collaboration. The selected participants will work directly with industry leaders, experts and stakeholders, to shape and finesse their proposals, ensuring their solutions align with real industry needs and regulatory requirements. 

Anna Sobkow, Head of The Catapult: Future Foundation Program at LHoFT highlighted that “It is a unique initiative that brings together innovation, collaboration, and mutualisation to tackle one of the most pressing challenges in the financial sector: secure and efficient data exchange. By uniting technology providers and Luxembourg’s leading financial institutions, we aim to deliver transformative solutions that will simplify processes, enhance compliance, and solidify Luxembourg’s position as a global leader in financial innovation.”

A Collective Effort

Participants selected for the  program will benefit from:

• Hands-On Collaboration: Direct engagement with financial institutions to refine solutions.
• Market Validation: Feedback from industry leaders ensures solutions are both innovative and implementable.
• Unmatched Visibility: Positioning as trailblazers in financial technology.

Depending on the stage and scale of the solution, participants may be eligible for a level of grant funding to support development efforts and a PoC.

During a five-day bootcamp in Luxembourg, participants will refine their ideas with expert guidance before presenting their final proposals to a jury. The winning solution will be chosen for implementation, with the potential to revolutionise industry processes.

“L3A is a strong supporter and fully committed to the LHoFT Future Foundation Mutualisation Project in which we participate at the Steering Committee level. This project highlights the clear market issues around the duplication of a high volume of low-value but time-consuming tasks, with replication of data widespread across the industry and its market participants. Luxembourg would gain a huge competitive advantage through having an efficient infrastructure catering for the simplification of such tasks and data sharing.”, said Alan Dundon, President L3A.

Eligibility and Application for the Program.

The program welcomes applications from startups, scaleups, and established technology firms with expertise in regulated industries across Europe:

• Technology consortiums capable of delivering complex data exchange solutions.
• Companies specialising in cloud computing, data encryption, blockchain, API integrations, and regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR, MiFID II, PSD2).
• Organisations with a proven track record in addressing financial data privacy and document exchange challenges in Europe.

If your team has the vision and expertise to reshape the future of financial services, this is your opportunity to collaborate with Luxembourg’s financial leaders and make a lasting impact.

Key Dates

• Applications Open: December 3, 2024
• Submission Deadline: February 28, 2025
• Bootcamp: April 2025
• Winner Announcement: June 2025

For more information or inquiries, visit the Catapult: Future Foundation Program– Call for Applications. 

1. Program Overview

The Catapult: Future Foundation Program (the “Program”) aims to identify and support innovative solutions for the Document and Data Exchange Solution tailored to the needs of the financial sector. Participation in the Program implies acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.

2. Suitability of Solutions

Applicants are required to propose solutions that align with the Program’s objectives and key requirements, including but not limited to scalability, data security, regulatory compliance, and integration capabilities. Only applications meeting the outlined requirements will be considered for further evaluation. Applicants may, at the time of applying for the program, not be incorporated in Luxembourg, but must meet the criteria of incorporation post the bootcamp in order to receive any funding related to the development of the solution, should they be selected as the Laureate.

The Program is open to all companies from Luxembourg and from abroad. Membership of the LHoFT is not a pre-requisite for participation in the Programme.

In order to be declared a winner, the applicant must agree to register in Luxembourg, with substance and a minimum, fully paid-up, share capital of 10,000 EUR. They must also hold the necessary business licence. 

Companies will submit all necessary information to the LHoFT that will assess the viability of the project, company, background of owners and key shareholders to limit the risks of non-compliance or doubtful application to the Programme.

The LHoFT will conduct background checks on the owners and key shareholders of the companies, to include, but not limited to:

• Identity check.
• Sanctions check.
• Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) check.
• Analysis and verification of company structure.
• Identification and verification of Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs).
• Laureates will in addition have to:
• Be judged to have attended and actively participated in the one-week bootcamp.
• Pitch, at the end of the bootcamp, in front of the jury.

3. Participation in the program

Participation in Bootcamp

Applicants acknowledge that, if selected for the program, they tentatively agree to participate in a mandatory 5-day in-person bootcamp, scheduled to take place between March 15 and April 30, 2025. The final dates will be communicated upon selection.

Costs

Participation in the Program is free of charge. However, no costs associated with participation (e.g., travel, accommodation, or other expenses) will be covered by the Program organizers or its partners. Participants are fully responsible for managing and covering their own expenses.

4. Grant Eligibility

A grant may be awarded to selected applicants under the following conditions:

• The solution is deemed suitable and aligns with the Program’s objectives.

• The Steering Committee unanimously approves the grant based on the applicant’s proposal, performance, and potential impact.

• Eligibility for grant funding will be determined by the program’s Steering Committee, based on  thorough review of the applicant’s submission. The committee will evaluate the financial need, strategic alignment with the program objectives, and the potential impact of the proposed solution. Assessment criteria: 

• Demonstration of Financial Need

Applicants must clearly outline their financial requirements to support the development, testing, or implementation of their solution. A comprehensive explanation of why the grant is necessary to achieve the proposed outcomes will be required.

• Justification for Grant Award

The applicant must provide a compelling justification for the grant, detailing specific activities or development milestones the grant will support, how the funding will address barriers to implementation or scalability, the expected outcomes and benefits derived from the grant support, Cost Breakdown. Applicants must submit a detailed breakdown of the costs associated with the project, including: development costs (e.g., software, hardware, resources), operational costs (e.g., staffing, overhead, testing), any other expenses related to the completion of the proposed solution.

Review Process

The Steering Committee will review all submissions and make final decisions regarding grant eligibility. The decision will consider the applicant’s financial capacity, the potential mutualisation benefits of the solution, and the alignment with industry needs.

Grant Award Conditions

• The grant, if awarded, will be subject to:
• The completion of pre-defined milestones or deliverables as agreed upon.
• Periodic reporting on the use of funds and progress of the project.
• Compliance with program rules and objectives.

Discretionary Decision

The Steering Committee reserves the right to award grants at its sole discretion based on the evaluation criteria. The decision of the Steering Committee will be final and binding.

Note: Submission of an application does not guarantee grant eligibility or award. 

5. Data Storage and Processing

• Application Data: Data submitted through the Zoho application form will be securely stored and used solely for Program evaluation and operational purposes. Applicants have the right to request the removal of their data at any time without any associated cost. Such requests can be directed to the Program’s official contact point: Anna Sobkow, Senior Program Manager (anna.sobkow@lhoft.lu).

• Public Information: General public information provided by applicants (e.g., company name, solution description) may be used for Program analysis and reporting purposes, ensuring no sensitive information is disclosed without explicit consent.

• Winner Information: The winner of the Program agrees to be publicly announced through various media channels, including press releases, social media, and events. The winner will collaborate with the Program organizers to provide necessary materials (e.g., interviews, company logo, and visuals) at their own expense for agreed promotional activities.

6. Data Protection and GDPR Compliance

The Program adheres to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other relevant data protection laws. By submitting an application, participants consent to the processing of their data for the Program’s purposes.

• Access to Data: Sensitive financial and legal data will only be accessible to the dedicated LHoFT Program team and will remain confidential.

• Data Deletion: Applicants may request data deletion at any time, and such requests will be honoured promptly.

7. Confidentiality

Applicants are encouraged to provide only non-confidential information in their applications. If confidential information is submitted, it will be handled securely and only disclosed to authorized individuals within the scope of the Program evaluation.

8. Disqualification and Withdrawal

The organizers reserve the right to disqualify any applicant who:

• Fails to meet the eligibility or suitability criteria.

• Submits incomplete inaccurate or false information

• Engages in activities that conflict with the Program’s values or objectives.

Applicants may withdraw their application at any stage by providing written notice to the Program organizers.

9. Program Modifications

The organizers reserve the right to modify, postpone, or cancel the Program at any time without prior notice. Any such changes will be communicated to participants promptly.

10. Liability Disclaimer

The Program organizers and partners shall not be held liable for any losses, damages, or expenses arising from participation in the Program.

11. Governing Law

These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of Luxembourg. Any disputes arising from the Program shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of Luxembourgish courts.

RETURN TO PROGRAM

For inquiries or further details, reach out to the Program Manager at anna.sobkow@lhoft.lu.