The Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT) is pleased to announce that Governance.com has been selected as the winner of the Catapult: Future Foundation – Mutualisation Initiative 2025. 

The selection followed a rigorous evaluation process, culminating in a final decision made by an independent jury and the program steering committee, composed of professionals from across all sectors of Luxembourg’s financial services industry. Three high-potential solutions had been shortlisted: Governance.com, Proximus/Wecan, and Ume. Governance.com was ultimately chosen as the winning project.

The jury recognized the exceptional capabilities of all three finalists, highlighting their strategic alignment with industry demands and reflecting the high standard of the competition. Hind El Gaidi, Program Chair, noted that Governance.com's designation as the chosen solution represents just the beginning, as the complementary nature of the remaining two proposals presents compelling opportunities for collaborative ventures in the near future.

The announcement was made at the LPEA Summer Party, concluding an intensive multi-week program orchestrated by LHoFT with active participation from the jury and steering committee members. The comprehensive process included a bootcamp from May 19-23, pitch presentations at Nexus on June 18, and final steering committee deliberations and voting on June 30. 

Program Mission and Impact

The Catapult: Future Foundation was designed to drive industry collaboration and create shared digital solutions for data and document exchange across financial institutions in Luxembourg. This mutualisation initiative addressed one of the financial industry's most pressing challenges: creating secure, efficient, and scalable solutions for data and document exchange that benefit the entire financial ecosystem.

The program, launched in June 2023 with support from Luxembourg's principal financial associations, including LPEA, ABBL, ACA, ALFI, LuxCMA, LuxSE, and L3A, exemplifies Luxembourg's distinctive strength in fostering innovation through meaningful public-private partnerships.

LHoFT CEO, Nasir Zubairi, commented: “Congratulations to Governance.com on their well-earned selection by the Jury and Steering Committee. Their solution stood out for its maturity and vision, in a race that was exceptionally competitive, with Proximus/Wecan also showcasing a highly credible and innovative solution. The quality of all submissions and the exceptional engagement from industry professionals reflect both the urgency of the challenge and the collective will to address it. The LHoFT team now looks forward to working with Governance.com and the Steering Committee to drive adoption and realize the goal of a truly mutualised solution for data and document exchange.”

The Selection Journey

From an initial pool of over 30 innovative applicants from across Europe and Asia, six finalists were selected through a rigorous evaluation process. These companies then participated in detailed proposal submissions, intensive workshops, and presentations during the bootcamp and public events, culminating in a final vote by the Jury and Steering Committee composed of 16 of Luxembourg's leading financial services stakeholders.

Participants engaged in 10 sessions with over 20 leading financial institutions, regulators, and industry experts, focusing on key themes including: mutualisation in the financial sector, efficient data and document management, integration and interoperability, enhancing client experience, and regulatory and compliance challenges.

Rigorous Evaluation Criteria

The selection process focused on critical evaluation criteria that ensure the winning solution delivers meaningful impact across the financial ecosystem. These included mutual benefit, regulatory compliance, interoperability, and cyber resilience, with a focus on shared value, adherence to Luxembourg and international regulations, seamless integration, and strong data security.

According to Anna Sobków, LHoFT Program Manager: “This program has showcased the power of collaboration across the industry to address complex challenges in data and document exchange. All three finalists brought innovative solutions, and I’m grateful to everyone involved for their commitment and insights. The selected winner reflects the jury’s and Steering Committee’s shared vision for a more efficient and interconnected financial ecosystem in Luxembourg.”

About the Finalists

The six finalists in the bootcamp showcased innovative approaches to mutualised financial solutions. Governance.com took first place with its digital governance and compliance platform. Other participants included Proximus/Wecan Comply with a blockchain-based regulatory document exchange; Sonata One, offering a centralised onboarding and compliance hub; ume, a community-led documentation exchange; U-Reg, an AI-driven RegTech platform; and Vestlane, providing automated onboarding and compliance solutions.

Hind El Gaidi, Chair of the Program, shared: “It has been incredibly important to align different representatives of the industry around a common vision, which we feel is now equally supported by all. The success of the Catapult program hinges on securing a strong adoption by the marketplace, or else we cannot call it mutualisation. It’s been encouraging to feel strong support and collaboration among all participants, and I’m convinced that we will see more add-ons to it in the near future.”

Why Governance.com Stood Out

Governance.com delivered a mature technology platform paired with an ambitious vision for scaling mutualisation across the financial sector. Evaluators recognized the solution's ability to address strict regulatory requirements while enabling seamless collaboration among diverse industry stakeholders. The platform's digital governance architecture, built with role-based access controls, detailed audit trails, and intuitive client portals, demonstrates both market readiness and the flexibility to evolve with growing industry demands.

Henning Swabey, Chief Commercial Officer at Governance.com, emphasizes the long-term vision behind their platform: "This is an industry-wide challenge that has added unnecessary costs and hurt the client experience for many years. We're thrilled to be part of a solution that goes beyond quick fixes and tackles the root of the problem: disconnected data and duplicated effort. What Governance.com has built already helps clients create a single source of truth across their ecosystem — and this win reinforces that we're on the right path."

Transformative Benefits for Financial Services

Governance.com offers a flexible, modular platform that enables financial institutions to securely share, manage, and transform data and documents across various use cases. The solution delivers multiple key benefits to the financial services industry:

• Operational Efficiency: Reduces duplication and streamlines data management workflows across institutions
• Enhanced Compliance: Improves regulatory compliance through automated processes and comprehensive audit trails
• Process Automation: Empowers firms to automate complex regulatory and operational processes
• Trusted Infrastructure: Creates a mutualised infrastructure that supports secure collaboration
• Strategic Positioning: Reinforces Luxembourg's position as a leader in responsible digital finance

Industry Recognition

The selection has garnered strong endorsement from industry leaders:

CEO of La Mondiale Europartner, Loic Le Foll, said: "I support Governance.com as, according to me, their solution truly embodies the future of governance. I think that their innovative approach, combined with a robust framework for compliance and high mutualisation potential, is what sets them apart."

Sinan Sar, Managing Director at United International Management & part of the Steering Committee, added: "I believe that with Governance.com, we have a partner that has a deep understanding of the needs of the Luxembourg financial community and knows what needs to be done to further strengthen the various players of the ecosystem. Their open mind, collaborative approach, combined with their technical expertise, are key ingredients to make this project successful."

Next Steps and Program Evolution

Following this recognition, Governance.com will work closely with the LHoFT and Prgram Steering Committee to prepare concrete industry adoption pathways. The collaboration will focus on refining the platform's capabilities and establishing plans for widespread implementation across Luxembourg's financial ecosystem.

Building on the success of this inaugural program, planning has already commenced for the Mutualisation Program's next chapter. The expanded initiative aims to extend mutualisation principles into other critical financial services areas such as ESG, continuing Luxembourg's leadership in collaborative fintech innovation.