Catapult: Inclusion Africa program brings together fintechs dedicated to advancing financial inclusion in Africa through a carefully tailored bootcamp accelerating them to amplify their impact on their local communities.
The Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT) has officially launched the ninth edition of its Catapult: Inclusion Africa acceleration program. Designed to target, scale, and fund high-potential early-stage fintech companies working to expand digital financial inclusion across the African continent, this year’s bootcamp marks a major strategic evolution.
For the 2026 cohort, LHoFT is running the accelerator in direct partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (ADFI) with ongoing backing from Luxembourg’s Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs and ADA (Appui au Développement Autonome).
Breaking away from single-city acceleration models, the 2026 program has been split into two distinct geographic phases, fully funded for the selected startups.
Hosted from June 29 to July 3, 2026, the cohort met in Abidjan for a high-intensity training, mentorship, and local ecosystem integration program. This phase culminated in live investor pitches, where ten outstanding startups were selected to move forward to the European leg.
Scheduled for November 9 to 13, 2026, the remaining finalists will travel to Luxembourg. This phase connects the startups directly with European impact investors, microfinance institutions, traditional investment banking networks, and global sustainable finance experts to secure expansion capital.
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The French-language program is specifically structured to support French-speaking founders navigating the regulatory and fundraising landscape. It provides hands-on masterclasses centered on three core business pillars which include; giving strategies to target underserved, unbanked and rural communities across Africa through targeted AgriTech, digital banking and microinsurance solutions, guiding pre-seed and Series A founders on how to successfully build strategic partnerships, manage high-growth customer acquisition, and comply with strict regional regulatory networks (such as the WAEMU zone) and improving investor readiness, financial modeling and building solid capital-allocation frameworks to navigate the current global venture capital slowdown.
With past editions supporting 84 startups across 25 African countries, this year’s deep integration with the African Development Bank positions the Catapult: Inclusion Africa program as a key catalyst driving the next wave of inclusive digital finance across West Africa and the broader continent.
