Fintech startups have until 15 January to apply for Catapult: Inclusion Africa 2020 bootcamp [Updated]

UPDATE (13 January 2020): The application deadline has been extended to this Wednesday (15 January 2020), LHoFT Foundation’s content marketing representative Daniel Gray told Ventureburn in late December 2019.

African fintech startups have until 31 December to apply for the Catapult: Inclusion Africa fintech bootcamp which will take place in Luxembourg in March.

There are 12 available spots for the second edition of the programme, while the bootcamp will take place between 1 and 8 March.

The fully funded week-long bootcamp is an initiative of The Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT) and is sponsored by PWC and Luxembourg Aid and Development.

The Catapult: Inclusion Africa fintech bootcamp is set to take place between 1 and 8 March in Luxembourg

Catapult’s bootcamp aims to promote and draw attention to the importance and value of fintech for financial inclusion.

Catapult does this through local and international media exposure, with the goal of focusing broad attention to the initiatives that are driving positive change in Africa.

The bootcamp is aimed at African fintech startups that are working to improve financial inclusion on the continent and are keen to build bridges between Africa and Europe.

It will cover a range of broad topics that will include business model mapping, scaling strategies, peer due diligence processes, investability, business plan presentation, legal strategy, pricing, HR policy and marketing strategy.

In parallel, the bootcamp will also support the promotion of fintech for financial inclusion to the broader responsible finance sector in Luxembourg and beyond to include private finance initiatives, micro finance institutions, fund managers, philanthropists as well as advisory and support firms.

LHoFT said in a statement this month that the goal is to highlight and promote synergies, collaboration and potential partnerships between the participating fintechs and these institutions.

Any startup — from pre-seed to Series-A — can apply. LHoFT said prior funding is an advantage, but is not a limiting factor for selection. To be considered for the bootcamp, applicants must meet the following criteria, they must:

• Be a fintech company with a clear focus on financial inclusion
• Ideally have a solution that can benefit by partnering with a traditional financial institution or private finance initiatives and micro finance institution
• Be delivering a solution directly applicable to Africa
• Already have a minimum viable product (MVP) that it would be capable to implement in a pilot project
• Have meaningful customer or business validation. However, this is not limited to revenue and can also include successful pilot studies, number of users or strategic partnerships.
• Have a strong and well-balanced team that internally covers key areas such as sales, technology development and operations

Ugandan micro-pension service and e-wallet platform Four One Financial Services won the Best Catapulter Award at last year’s edition.

Read more: Ugandan fintech wins Best Catapulter Award at Catapult: Inclusion Africa
Read more: Nine African fintech startups selected for Catapult: Inclusion Africa bootcamp