The Luxembourg House of Financial Technology and ADB Ventures have launched the NextFin Asia Fund, marking the first time the Catapult: Inclusion SE Asia acceleration programme will provide direct investment to participating startups alongside its existing mentorship and institutional partnership model. The fund, announced on February 23, 2026, is backed by the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, and represents a structural shift from pure acceleration to a capital-plus-support platform for fintech founders operating across Southeast Asia.
Key Facts At A Glance
- Announcement date: February 23, 2026
- Fund name: NextFin Asia Fund
- Founding partners: Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT), Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, and ADB Ventures
- ADB Ventures is the venture capital arm of the Asian Development Bank
First time the Catapult: Inclusion SE Asia programme offers direct investment alongside acceleration support - Eligible applicants: Fintech startups based in or actively operating within ASEAN countries, from MVP to growth stage, accepting funding stages from pre-seed to Series A
- Eligible sectors include digital payments, financial inclusion, climate and green finance, InsurTech, AgriTech, SME finance, RegTech, and digital infrastructure
- Since its inception, the Catapult programme has supported 115 fintech startups from emerging markets in Africa and Asia
- Programme milestones: June 2026 in Luxembourg and November 2026 at the Singapore FinTech Festival
From Accelerator To Investment Platform
The Luxembourg House of Financial Technology, a public-private sector initiative that supports technology innovation for Luxembourg’s financial services industry, has been running the Catapult: Inclusion SE Asia programme across two prior editions. In its third edition, the programme formally adds a direct investment component through the NextFin Asia Fund, shifting its model from a purely advisory and mentorship-based structure to one that combines capital deployment with acceleration support.
The fund is being delivered in partnership with the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade and ADB Ventures, the venture arm of the Asian Development Bank. ADB Ventures provides early-stage capital and strategic support to technology-driven startups that deliver measurable social, climate, and development impact across Asia and the Pacific.
According to the official announcement, the third edition of the programme aims to support a selected cohort of high-potential fintech startups operating across ASEAN, with participants receiving direct investment through the NextFin Asia Fund in addition to strategic guidance, market access support, and impact measurement frameworks.
Scope And Eligibility
Fintech startups actively operating in or targeting Southeast Asia are eligible to apply. Sectors covered include digital payments, financial inclusion, climate and green finance, InsurTech, AgriTech, SME finance, RegTech, and digital infrastructure. Business stages range from minimum viable product to growth-stage companies, and the fund accepts applicants from pre-seed through Series A.
The programme is positioned as a bridge between Southeast Asia and Europe, with the LHoFT Foundation serving as the connecting institution between Luxembourg’s financial ecosystem and the region’s fintech founders.
Programme Milestones And Institutional Backing
The 2026 edition of Catapult: Inclusion SE Asia will unfold across two key events. The official global launch and institutional engagement phase is scheduled for June 2026 in Luxembourg. The programme will then be presented at the Singapore FinTech Festival in November 2026, one of the largest fintech gatherings in Southeast Asia.
Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Xavier Bettel stated that the partnership brings together Luxembourg’s financial expertise, regional insight, and investment capacity to support scalable inclusive innovation across Southeast Asia, and described the use of public investment to mobilise private capital as central to the programme’s design.
Isabel Chatterton, Director General of ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department, stated that the partnership combines catalytic capital with market-readiness support to help fintech founders scale solutions that advance financial inclusion across Southeast Asia, with a focus on expanding access to finance for micro, small, and medium enterprises and underserved communities.
Alex Panican, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the LHoFT, described the partnership between a development bank and a fintech accelerator as a first of its kind globally, noting that the NextFin Asia Fund results directly from institutional trust built through the previous two editions of the Catapult programme.
Since its inception, the Catapult programme has supported 115 fintech startups from emerging markets across Africa and Asia, focusing on expanding access to financial services for underserved populations.