The FinTech Awards Luxembourg Grand Final, hosted on 21 June at KPMG’s headquarters honoured Governance.io, Scaled Risk and Neurodecision with top awards. Ten startups competed for three different awards, following the semi-final round in May. Developed between Digital Lëtzebuerg, the ICT Cluster, KPMG Luxembourg, Luxinnovation, Maison Moderne, and the Technoport, these national awards aim to bring the best of technology to Europe’s leading financial centre. (Featured image: Prime Minister Xavier Bettel with the 10 startups and jury members © Casch Photographie)
In his introduction to the event, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel emphasized the importance of the competition and of FinTech in Luxembourg. “It’s clear that Luxembourg is on the map as a digital hub – it is agile enough to see change happen quickly. As a government, we can continue to create an environment that encourages innovation, we can foster the creation of an ecosystem, we can help create a culture – but we need the entrepreneurs themselves,” Prime Minister said.
During the awards final, each company was given 6 minutes to pitch to a panel of jury members, which was followed by a 4 minute question-and-answer session. Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna announced the winners:
- FinTech Startup of the Year: governance.io
- FinTech Entrepreneur of the Year: Herve Bonazzi from Scaled Risk
- Best Pitch: Neurodecision
“I had the pleasure of seeing five of the presentations today, and am impressed by the candidates’ energy and commitment,” said Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna. “It shows that Luxembourg is recognized as a major FinTech hub in the European Union. What makes Luxembourg interesting for FinTech start-ups is that we have a critical mass, with 143 banks, hundreds of service providers, and the second largest investment fund centre in the world.”
This was the first iteration of the Luxembourg FinTech Awards, which helps to reinforce Luxembourg’s reputation for attracting entrepreneurs and startup talent. The event also highlighted the close partnership between prominent players and entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, government and financial industry representatives serving on the jury panel for the competition.
“Innovation is inscribed in KPMG’s DNA, as we continue to help prepare our clients to meet the challenges and opportunities of the digital era,” said Georges Bock, Managing Partner of KPMG Luxembourg. “Thus we are very proud to be amongst the founding members of this national initiative. We are thankful for the opportunity to have hosted this year’s awards at KPMG Luxembourg.”
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