(Singapore, Nov 8) The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced that the 20 finalists for the Global FinTech Hackcelerator.
The finalists will pitch their solutions at the Global FinTech Hackcelerator Demo Day at the 2019 Singapore FinTech Festival x Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SFF x SWITCH).
The finalists were selected through two parallel scouting programmes – the Local Programme, to tackle problem statements originating from the financial industry in Singapore and the broader Asia region; and the International Programme, which comprises winners of FinTech competitions in other regions.
Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS, said, “The Global FinTech Hackcelerator continues to be a great platform for FinTechs to showcase and contextualise their innovative solutions for the industry.”
He said that many finalists from the past three years of this programme have gone on to achieve successes in the industry. “Some of them have also secured partnership deals with their Global FinTech Hackcelerator corporate champions. We look forward to more success stories coming out from this year’s finalists,” he added.
So far, MAS shortlisted 10 winners from over 200 submissions from across 30 countries to address 70 problem statements in three focus areas: financial inclusion, insurance, banking and finance and a general category. More than half of the submissions came from Asia, and a quarter were from Singapore.
The International Programme participants comprised 10 winners, two per country, from FinTech competitions in five countries (Abu Dhabi, Kenya, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States of America). More than 400 FinTechs participated in the competition across the five countries.
During Demo Day on 11 November, finalists will present their innovations and the top three winners will win S$50,000 in prize money each. All 20 finalists will also receive an S$20,000 cash stipend and be fast-tracked in their applications to receive grant funding under the MAS Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) Proof-of-Concept Scheme.
Each finalist will be given a start-up kiosk at SFF x SWITCH exhibition to showcase their solutions. The finalists were also invited to a dedicated Deal Friday networking session in October to meet potential investors.
The Global FinTech Hackcelerator, supported by KPMG Digital Village, matches innovative market-ready solutions to address real industry needs.
Mr Chia Tek Yew, Head of Financial Services Advisory, KPMG Singapore said, “The International Programme has allowed us to reach out to the international FinTech community and bring fresh ideas into the Global FinTech Hackcelerator programme. ”
“We found FinTech players with innovative solutions to address pressing issues, such as around financial inclusion, to help developing countries facing similar issues in the South-East Asia region,” he added.
