Celebrating 5 years of the LGX Academy
This month marks 5 years since the launch of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE)’s dedicated sustainable finance education and capacity building initiative, the LGX Academy.
To celebrate this important milestone, let’s take a look back at how the LGX Academy has evolved in its first 5 years of existence and how we hope to see it continue to flourish in the next 5 years and more.
Officially launched on 5 May 2020, the LGX Academy was originally planned to be a fully in-person sustainable finance education initiative lead by our experts at the world’s leading platform for sustainable finance, the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX).
However, the rapid spread of COVID-19 in early 2020 meant that plans had to be quickly changed, and the virtual classroom set up to welcome its first cohort of students in September 2020.
Speaking at the time of the launch, our now CEO Julie Becker, who founded LGX and held the role of Deputy CEO back in 2020 said:
“Many financial institutions and investors would like to contribute to sustainable development, but they lack the necessary market knowledge. The LGX team has frequently been asked to share its knowledge and experience both at regulatory and practical levels. One of the missions of an exchange is to ensure investor protection and this starts with raising awareness and education. This is exactly what we intend to achieve with the LGX Academy."
For the launch, LuxSE was granted the status of continuous vocational training establishment (Gestionnaire d’un Organisme de Formation Professionnelle Continue) by the Grand Duchy. Through this status, our experts were officially able to provide certified trainings to financial professionals and students in Luxembourg seeking an in-depth understanding of the principles and foundations of sustainable finance, as well as its underlying drivers and related market practices.
As the months went on and as the sustainable finance market continued to rapidly evolve, so too did the LGX Academy. As the world began to open up again throughout the course of 2021, the possibility of returning to the physical classroom became a reality.
All staff working at LuxSE at the time were able to take part in the then standard 18-hour training offered to the public, covering everything from the fundamentals in sustainable finance to reporting and external reviews for sustainable bonds, and by 2022, things were really building momentum.
Now having provided ample hours of trainings to key actors in Luxembourg since its very first tailor-made course with KPMG in 2020, it was time for the LGX Academy and its lecturers – led by Sustainable Finance Manager Paul Chahine – to cast their sights further, to the regions most in need of sustainable finance.
Through partnerships with the likes of the United Nations’ Development Programme (UNDP), its Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (UN SSE), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), LuxDev, Luxembourg House of Training and Agence de Transfert de Technologie Financière (ATTF), it was time for the LGX Academy to take to the global stage.
In the 5 years and multiple partnerships that followed, the LGX Academy has reached students from more than 45 countries, its lecturers have travelled to more than 10 countries to give in-person trainings and has so far enriched the sustainable finance knowledge of more than 1,000 participants through in-house, online, tailor-made and capacity building trainings on a wide variety of sustainable finance topics.
From ESG funds to transition finance, and the EU Sustainable Finance Package to emerging markets, no topic was too big or too small to be discussed in the LGX Academy.
The very first in-person capacity building mission undertaken by the LGX Academy was to Cabo Verde in 2022, where our experts shared their knowledge with the staff of Bolsa de Valores de Cabo Verde (BVC) and other important actors in the Cabo Verdean financial ecosystem – insights that played a direct role in the first Cabo Verdean green bond being issued on our exchange by the International Investment Bank (iib) in November 2023.
Capacity building missions to countries such as Bhutan, Cambodia, China, the Ivory Coast, Laos, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Thailand – all focusing on building up sustainable finance knowledge and issuances in these regions – have become the new driving force behind the LGX Academy and its expert lecturers.
The lasting effect that the LGX Academy’s teaching has had on participants is clear.
On a more local level, Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL), was one of the first entities to embrace the LGX Academy. Its Business Developer Xingshi Guo, reflected on her experiences at the LGX Academy after attending one of its first tailor-made training sessions back in 2022.
And just like iib brought Cabo Verde’s first green bond to LuxSE, following its time at the LGX Academy, so too did Sri Lanka-based DFCC Bank bring the South Asian nation's inaugural green bond to LuxSE and LGX in late 2024 – all as a direct consequence of the trainings delivered by our experts that travelled especially to Colombo, Sri Lanka in October 2023.
Interested in reading more about DFCC Bank’s experience at the LGX Academy? Click here.
At the heart of it all, that is what the LGX Academy has aimed to do since the very start. The format may have changed. The classrooms may have been in completely different continents. They may have even been housed within an iPad screen at numerous points in time!
However, as we reflect on all that the LGX Academy has achieved over the last 5 years, it shows us how much more we can achieve in the next 5 years and more.
The success and growth of the LGX Academy since 2020 would not have been possible without the dedication of our LGX Academy team, the numerous past and present experts from LuxSE than have jumped at the opportunity to become lecturers, our close partners in sustainable finance education and of course, all 1,000+ participants that have made their way to the LGX Academy over the last 5 years.
There are so many areas of sustainable finance to discover and so many different ways to discover them with the help of the LGX Academy – whether that’s through our capacity-building programmes, tailor-made or regular courses, or those that we run with our partners, there’s an LGX Academy option to suit your needs.
If now feels like the right time to kickstart your sustainable finance journey, reach out to our experts, who would be more than happy to get you on your way.
To celebrate this important milestone, let’s take a look back at how the LGX Academy has evolved in its first 5 years of existence and how we hope to see it continue to flourish in the next 5 years and more.
From humble beginnings
Officially launched on 5 May 2020, the LGX Academy was originally planned to be a fully in-person sustainable finance education initiative lead by our experts at the world’s leading platform for sustainable finance, the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX).
However, the rapid spread of COVID-19 in early 2020 meant that plans had to be quickly changed, and the virtual classroom set up to welcome its first cohort of students in September 2020.
Speaking at the time of the launch, our now CEO Julie Becker, who founded LGX and held the role of Deputy CEO back in 2020 said:
“Many financial institutions and investors would like to contribute to sustainable development, but they lack the necessary market knowledge. The LGX team has frequently been asked to share its knowledge and experience both at regulatory and practical levels. One of the missions of an exchange is to ensure investor protection and this starts with raising awareness and education. This is exactly what we intend to achieve with the LGX Academy."
For the launch, LuxSE was granted the status of continuous vocational training establishment (Gestionnaire d’un Organisme de Formation Professionnelle Continue) by the Grand Duchy. Through this status, our experts were officially able to provide certified trainings to financial professionals and students in Luxembourg seeking an in-depth understanding of the principles and foundations of sustainable finance, as well as its underlying drivers and related market practices.
Rising to the challenge
As the months went on and as the sustainable finance market continued to rapidly evolve, so too did the LGX Academy. As the world began to open up again throughout the course of 2021, the possibility of returning to the physical classroom became a reality.
All staff working at LuxSE at the time were able to take part in the then standard 18-hour training offered to the public, covering everything from the fundamentals in sustainable finance to reporting and external reviews for sustainable bonds, and by 2022, things were really building momentum.
Now having provided ample hours of trainings to key actors in Luxembourg since its very first tailor-made course with KPMG in 2020, it was time for the LGX Academy and its lecturers – led by Sustainable Finance Manager Paul Chahine – to cast their sights further, to the regions most in need of sustainable finance.
Through partnerships with the likes of the United Nations’ Development Programme (UNDP), its Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (UN SSE), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), LuxDev, Luxembourg House of Training and Agence de Transfert de Technologie Financière (ATTF), it was time for the LGX Academy to take to the global stage.
In the 5 years and multiple partnerships that followed, the LGX Academy has reached students from more than 45 countries, its lecturers have travelled to more than 10 countries to give in-person trainings and has so far enriched the sustainable finance knowledge of more than 1,000 participants through in-house, online, tailor-made and capacity building trainings on a wide variety of sustainable finance topics.
LGX Academy goes global
From ESG funds to transition finance, and the EU Sustainable Finance Package to emerging markets, no topic was too big or too small to be discussed in the LGX Academy.
The very first in-person capacity building mission undertaken by the LGX Academy was to Cabo Verde in 2022, where our experts shared their knowledge with the staff of Bolsa de Valores de Cabo Verde (BVC) and other important actors in the Cabo Verdean financial ecosystem – insights that played a direct role in the first Cabo Verdean green bond being issued on our exchange by the International Investment Bank (iib) in November 2023.
Capacity building missions to countries such as Bhutan, Cambodia, China, the Ivory Coast, Laos, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Thailand – all focusing on building up sustainable finance knowledge and issuances in these regions – have become the new driving force behind the LGX Academy and its expert lecturers.
Driving sustainable finance forward
The lasting effect that the LGX Academy’s teaching has had on participants is clear.
On a more local level, Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL), was one of the first entities to embrace the LGX Academy. Its Business Developer Xingshi Guo, reflected on her experiences at the LGX Academy after attending one of its first tailor-made training sessions back in 2022.
And just like iib brought Cabo Verde’s first green bond to LuxSE, following its time at the LGX Academy, so too did Sri Lanka-based DFCC Bank bring the South Asian nation's inaugural green bond to LuxSE and LGX in late 2024 – all as a direct consequence of the trainings delivered by our experts that travelled especially to Colombo, Sri Lanka in October 2023.
Interested in reading more about DFCC Bank’s experience at the LGX Academy? Click here.
Facing towards the future
In today’s world, it is more important than ever that we equip ourselves, the companies that we work in, and the next generation that will follow in our footsteps with the tools that they need to create a more low-carbon and inclusive world through finance.At the heart of it all, that is what the LGX Academy has aimed to do since the very start. The format may have changed. The classrooms may have been in completely different continents. They may have even been housed within an iPad screen at numerous points in time!
However, as we reflect on all that the LGX Academy has achieved over the last 5 years, it shows us how much more we can achieve in the next 5 years and more.
The success and growth of the LGX Academy since 2020 would not have been possible without the dedication of our LGX Academy team, the numerous past and present experts from LuxSE than have jumped at the opportunity to become lecturers, our close partners in sustainable finance education and of course, all 1,000+ participants that have made their way to the LGX Academy over the last 5 years.
There are so many areas of sustainable finance to discover and so many different ways to discover them with the help of the LGX Academy – whether that’s through our capacity-building programmes, tailor-made or regular courses, or those that we run with our partners, there’s an LGX Academy option to suit your needs.
If now feels like the right time to kickstart your sustainable finance journey, reach out to our experts, who would be more than happy to get you on your way.
