10 African Fintech Startups Selected for CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa Special Dubai Edition

The LHoFT Foundation has announced the 10 African fintech startups that will take part in the special edition of CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa which will be held in Dubai, UAE. 

CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa is designed for innovative technology companies focused on financial inclusion in Africa. The program aligns with the sustainability goals of Luxembourg’s finance centre, and seeks to create real impact in relation to financial inclusion, by providing participant firms with education and insight as well as connectivity, leveraging Luxembourg’s experienced ecosystem of entrepreneurs, finance professionals, and financial inclusion and impact specialists. 

Sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign & European Affairs – Directorate for Development and Humanitarian Affairs, This Dubai edition of CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa will leverage Luxembourg’s Microfinance and Fintech ecosystems with a host of mentors and specialists from Luxembourg flying to Dubai to provide their contribution to the program. Key stakeholders, partners and mentors from the MENA region will also support the program in a sign of the strong relationship and collaboration between Luxembourg and the UAE. 

During the three-day program, expert speakers and mentors from Luxembourg and UAE will support the selected firms in developing their businesses and achieving their inclusion goals, creating synergies between them, partners, sponsors, investors, Microfinance institutions (MFI) and Public Financial Institutions (PFIs). 

“Fintechs can empower and target groups that have been left behind by the traditional financial services. As such, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation continues to actively support game-changing inclusive finance ventures. It specifically targets companies that focus on financial inclusion in Africa and the MENA region, while leveraging Luxembourg’s Inclusive Finance and Fintech ecosystem.” Franz Fayot, Minister of the Economy and Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, said.

The selected startups are AKIBA (South Africa), Damansah (Ivory Coast), Social Lender, MamaMoni Limited, Halal Payment (Nigeria), eAgro (Zimbabwe), eMaisha Pay, International Airtime Top Up (Uganda), mOtito (Ghana), VIRL Rural & Social Financial Services (Zimbabwe).

“We are excited to deliver our Catapult program in Dubai, working with incredible local partners such as the DIFC and Fintech Hive as well as our key Luxembourg sponsor, The Directorate for Development and Humanitarian Aid. We have an incredible lineup of participants picked from over 130 applications, and we look forward to working with them and learning about their businesses. This a great demonstration of international collaboration between the UAE and Luxembourg, and we believe all mentors and stakeholders involved will benefit from the ecosystems coming together through the Catapult program.” Nasir Zubairi, CEO of the LHoFT added.

The program is also supported by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion as well as other key strategic partners such as ADA, AFI, InFine, DIFC FinTech Hive, PwC, Luxembourg Microfinance and Development Fund, Luxembourg For Finance, Dubai UAE Expo 2020 and Compellio. 

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