The event was held at the premises of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce with the rather unusual-sounding name piquing the curiosity of guests. The initiative has been a hot topic for several months now, in part thanks to the buzz being generated by Luxembourg’s fast-growing fintech sector.
A buzz
Commenting on the project, Luxembourg for Finance CEO Nicolas Mackel noted that “beyond its walls, a company needs to generate a buzz.” He also added that “from the word go, it was crucial to have key partner organisations from Luxembourg’s financial sector to breathe life into the LHoFT.”
The venture convinced ten financial stakeholders – who were all already present in Luxembourg – to get on board. These included Banque et Caisse d’Épargne de l’État (BCEE), BGL BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Clearstream, Six, Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, Post and Telindus. Thanks to their input, the LHoFT is now ready to hit the ground running. The launch also served as a networking opportunity for stakeholders from both foreign fintech companies and local financial institutions.
Fostering networking opportunities for tomorrow’s financial industry
Nicolas Mackel highlighted that the initiative is not an attempt to create incubator-type infrastructure or co-working spaces – the kind of thing that already exists. He added that those involved are viewed as innovation partners. “We wanted to create a new forum – one which is a par above the rest – to foster relations between key players from the financial and fintech sectors. We wanted to build somewhere where people could interact and come up with new ideas.”
The purpose of the LHoFT is also to enable international fintech stakeholders to meet representatives of Luxembourg companies already present in the finance or fintech sector in order to develop mutually beneficial partnerships. Such ventures could potentially also be of interest to the public sector organisations and major institutions like the University of Luxembourg or other research centres. Nicolas Mackel insisted that “the aim is to position Luxembourg and its finance industry as a key platform from which to develop the fintech sector internationally, ” adding that “with this in mind, the LHoFT is positioning itself as a forum for facilitating the development of such partnerships.”
While it awaits the completion of building works at its new premises on rue Glesener, the LHoFT has taken up residence at the House of Entrepreneurship. The Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, which welcomed the initiative on 17 October 2016, is making a floor of the new building available temporarily.
