3 startups to watch in 2023

Writer Laura Campan

Offering an easy access to decision-makers in both public and private sectors, as well as a dedicated support to startups, Luxembourg is often seen as an ideal business environment within Europe. 

According to the public platform Luxembourg, Let’s Make It Happen, the country counts over 700 startups and 15 incubators and accelerators – arguably a flourishing ecosystem worth watching.  

So, what are the startups to follow in 2023? Let’s see what they have been cooking up in the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT).

Beewise

Since the first lockdown, we have seen a growing interest in the stock market – especially from people under 30, according to a study run by the Belgian financial market regulator FSMA in 2022. Hence the need for apps like Beewise to grow your savings through thematic investing (from 10 a month), specifically designed and monitored by experts from a leading financial player in Europe and parent company, Azimut. 

And the icing on the cake? You can donate 1% of your investments to reforestation projects through their partner WeForest. 

“By closely examining my surroundings, I became aware of a considerable gap and numerous misconceptions regarding investing among the younger generation. This realization, along with the revolutionary concept of “Open Finance” became the primary source of inspiration behind Beewise. Together with Azimut Group’s investment expertise, we aimed to break down the barriers between the younger generation and the world of investing by providing our clients with more comprehensive financial information. Our ultimate goal is to empower our users to make better financial decisions that would benefit them in the long run.”

Matthias Van Den Eede, Beewise Founder

Mopso

Diving into compliance may be challenging, especially considering its complex and constantly changing regulatory environment. After drowning with information for a long time, many financial institutions have simply stopped investing in new customer relationship management. This is where regtech solutions like Mopso come in. 

While its Amlet module allows banks and financial institutions to onboard new customers in a faster and safer way, through an innovative digital identity and a blockchain infrastructure, its Brain module helps them to evaluate and manage money laundering risks, especially thanks to artificial intelligence algorithms.  

“As a former AML analyst of the Bank of Italy, I quickly realized that navigating the choppy waters of compliance may be back-breaking for many banks and financial institutions. This is when the idea of creating a platform to enhance AML controls using artificial intelligence came out – and we fiercely believe Luxembourg may be our bridgehead. Particularly with Amlet, our aim is to be the first mover, by developing – together with other relevant partners – the first European banking ecosystem able to re-use customers’ information in a safe and privacy preserving way.”

Andrea Danielli, Mopso Founder and CEO

Torus

Many banks and payment service providers lose about $10,000 million annually on card payments due to poor profitability management. A platform like Torus enables issuers and acquirers to fully understand costs allocation, track all the forecasted pricing updates and unleash cost saving opportunities. It also enables to manage and optimise card- and merchant-level transactional profitability, as well as pricing. 

What if this solution could help you implement quick win initiatives that cut your costs by 5 to 10% within 3-6 months? 

“During the second half of my 12-year corporate career, I began to contemplate taking on more responsibility by running something of my own. I had a few ideas but never took any step to bringing them to fruition. Instead, I watched as others experienced successes and failures. Eventually, together with my co-founder we found a perfect match between our expertise and a global unsolved problem in the payments industry: card payment players don’t leverage enough the data they get from Visa and Mastercard to improve their profitability. This is when the idea of creating Torus came up.”

Kirill Lisitsyn, Torus Founder and CEO