The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announceed the finalists for the Global Fintech Hackcelerator and the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) Global Fintech Awards.
These Awards are among “the key highlights of SFF 2021, which will take place from 8 to 12 November 2021,” according to a release.
Global Fintech Hackcelerator 2021
As stated in the release:
“The theme for this year’s Global FinTech Hackcelerator is “Harnessing Technology to Power Green Finance”. The 20 finalists, comprising FinTech firms and solution providers, have submitted unique Fintech solutions that aim to accelerate Green Finance development in Singapore and the region.”
The finalists will be expected to pitch their solutions at the Global Fintech Hackcelerator Demo Day during the SFF. All finalists will get an SGD $20,000 cash stipend and be “eligible for a fast-tracked application process to receive a cash grant of up to S$200,000, under the MAS Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) Proof-of-Concept Scheme.” The top three winners will “receive a total of S$150,000 in prize money,” the update confirmed.
The announcement also mentioned that the ten finalists each were “shortlisted through the Local Program and the International Partner Program.”
As stated in a release, 283 participants in the Local Program, supported by Oliver Wyman, “addressed high-priority problem statements collated from financial institutions and green finance industry players in Singapore and globally.”
Over 130 of the Local Program participants are from Asia.
The International Partner Program “attracted solutions from winners of green finance related competitions organized by selected international partners,” the announcement noted.
This year’s global partners are Accelpoint and the Polish Investment & Trade Agency, F10 and New Energy Nexus, Banca d’Italia / G20 Italian Presidency and the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub, and Finance for Tomorrow.
Over 230 Fintechs from acriss the globe took part in the International Program.
SFF Global FinTech Awards 2021, the update revealed.
The SFF Global Fintech Awards, supported by PwC Singapore, “brings together the FinTech Awards previously presented separately by MAS and the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA),” the update noted.
The Awards “recognizes ground-breaking solutions that have enabled the financial sector to rebound from the impact of the pandemic, including initiatives that have helped create new growth opportunities, transform industry practices, and promote financial inclusion.” The theme for this year’s Awards is “Emerging from a pandemic, the road to recovery.”
As confirmed in the update, a total of 298 submissions were received “across all award categories.”
For the Fintech Awards supported by MAS, 190 submissions were “received across four award categories of which 40 finalists were shortlisted.”
The SFA received 108 submissions “across their eight award categories,” the announcement confirmed while adding that the winners of the Awards will be “announced on 11 November 2021, at the SFF.”
Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer, MAS, stated:
“COVID-19 challenges have catalyzed rapid innovation and consumer adoption of digital services. We have also seen sustainability and resiliency becoming key elements of future business operating models. This year’s FinTech Awards will highlight the importance of investing in innovation to foster an inclusive global recovery. In addition, we have focused the Global FinTech Hackcelerator around Green FinTech as we strive to harness technology to support the transition to a low carbon economy, regionally and globally. We look forward to seeing finalists of both initiatives achieve great success and become game-changers in the FinTech community.”
Chia Tek Yew, Vice-Chairman, Singapore of Oliver Wyman added:
“We have been amazed by the quality of the submissions and the finalists each come with strong solutions to address pressing challenges in Green Finance. I truly believe that FinTech’s technology and innovative business models will contribute immensely to the development of sustainable finance, just as they have contributed to areas such as financial inclusion through micro-lending solutions and payments.”
Wong Wanyi, FinTech Leader, PwC Singapore’s Venture Hub, remarked:
“The future of FinTech is experiencing accelerated growth as industry players continue to bring new ideas to the market, challenging the status quo of traditional players. This year, we are encouraged by game-changers who break away from the norm, transforming industry standards and practices with unique and creative solutions. Organizations that promote interoperability within the ecosystem will be able to realize the beauty of FinTech, increasing efficiency as they connect the dots.”
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is the nation’s central bank and integrated financial regulator. As a central bank, MAS “promotes sustained, non-inflationary economic growth through the conduct of monetary policy and close macroeconomic surveillance and analysis.”
The MAS “manages Singapore’s exchange rate, official foreign reserves, and liquidity in the banking sector.” As an integrated financial supervisor, MAS aims to “foster a sound financial services sector through its prudential oversight of all financial institutions in Singapore – banks, insurers, capital market intermediaries, financial advisors, and financial market infrastructures.”
As noted in the update, Singapore will host two events for the international innovation community from 8 to 12 November 2021 – the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) and Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SWITCH).
SFF serves as an international platform for the Fintech community comprising FinTech players, technopreneurs, policy makers, financial industry leaders, investors including private equity players and venture capitalists, and academics.
Last year, SFF and SWITCH saw 60,000 participants from more than 160 countries with over 2,000 speakers, over 1,300 exhibitors, 27 international pavilions, and 45 satellite events “hosted by partner cities across the world during the 5-day round-the-clock event.”
The SFF is organized by the MAS with assistance from The Association of Banks in Singapore and in collaboration with Constellar Holdings.
For more details on this update, check here.