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MAS Announces 20 Finalists for the 2019 Global FinTech Hackcelerator
November 7, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA RELEASE
MAS Announces 20 Finalists for the 2019 Global FinTech Hackcelerator
Singapore, 7 November 2019… The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced today 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).
2 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.
- In the Local Programme, MAS shortlisted 10 winners from over 200 submissions from across 30 countries to address 70 problem statements in three focus areas – (i) Financial Inclusion, (ii) Insurance, (iii) Banking and Finance and (iv) 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.
For more details on the Local and International Programmes, refer to Annex A.
3 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 a 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[1]. 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[2] networking session in October to meet potential investors.
4 The Global FinTech Hackcelerator, supported by KPMG Digital Village, matches innovative market-ready solutions to address real industry needs. For details on the finalists, judging panel and corporate mentors for the Local Programme, refer to Annexes B and C.
- 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. 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.”
- 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.”
***
About the Singapore FinTech Festival
Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) is the world’s largest FinTech festival and a global platform for the FinTech community. The 2018 festival saw 45,000 participants from over 127 countries, hosted more than 250 global luminaries and 480 exhibitors. Attendees comprised FinTech players, technopreneurs, policy makers, financial industry leaders, private equity/venture capitalist investors, and academics. The festival featured highlights such as the FinTech Conference with a new AI in Finance Summit and Global Investors’ Summit. There were also traditional features such as the FinTech Awards, Global FinTech Hackcelerator, Innovation Lab Crawl and Industry Networking and Workshops. The Festival is organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in partnership with The Association of Banks in Singapore and in collaboration with SingEx Holdings. Find out more at www.fintechfestival.sg.
About SWITCH
Organised by Enterprise Singapore, National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF) and Intellectual Property Intermediary (IPI) Singapore, SWITCH is a platform where scientific discoveries and advancements are transformed into disruptive technology applications that will redefine the way we live. It focuses on deep tech applications in the areas of manufacturing, urban solutions, health and biomedical sciences and digital services.
SWITCH is where companies identify new technologies for business transformation and where collaborations are formed. It convenes entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, innovator and industry professionals from diverse backgrounds. Find out more at www.switchsg.org.
For media queries, please contact:
Bridgitte Lee
Assistant Director (Communications)
Monetary Authority of Singapore
Tel: +65 6229 9262
Email: Bridgitte_lee@mas.gov.sg
Casie Eng
Assistant Director (Communications)
Monetary Authority of Singapore
Tel: +65 6422 5428
Email: casie_eng@mas.gov.sg
Jacqueline Ong
Deputy Director (Communications)
Monetary Authority of Singapore
Tel: +65 6229 9159
Email: jacqueline_ong@mas.gov.sg
ANNEX A: About the Global FinTech Hackcelerator
The Global FinTech Hackcelerator will create impactful, market-ready FinTech solutions that solve real industry needs in three focus areas (i) Financial Inclusion, (ii) Insurance and (iii) Banking and Finance and (iv) a general category. Twenty global finalist teams were shortlisted to receive cash stipends of S$20,000, mentorship by industry experts, access to potential clients and investors, and an opportunity to win cash prizes totalling S$150,000. The finalists will also be fast-tracked in their applications to receive grant funding under the MAS Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) Proof-of-Concept Scheme.
Local Programme
MAS published 70 problem statements gathered from the local financial industry and invited innovative start-ups from around the world to submit market-ready solutions to tackle these problem statements. Similar to the previous three editions of the Global FinTech Hackcelerator, these finalists will go through a 12-week virtual programme and be assigned corporate champions and industry mentors to develop and refine their market-ready solutions into contextualised prototypes to be showcased on Demo Day at SFF x SWITCH.
International Programme
In addition to the Local Programme, a new component of the FinTech scouting process this year is the International Programme.
To increase the diversity of FinTech solutions in the programme and broaden the outreach to the global FinTech community, the International Programme selects two winners per country from FinTech competitions in Abu Dhabi, Kenya, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States of America.
List of Competitions
|
Country |
Name of Competition |
|
Abu Dhabi |
FinTech Abu Dhabi (FinTechAD) Innovation Challenge organised by Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and KPMG Lower Gulf |
|
Kenya |
Global FinTech Hackcelerator @ Kenya supported by the Central Bank of Kenya and KPMG East Africa |
|
South Africa |
Global FinTech Hackcelerator @ Southern Africa supported by South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and KPMG Matchi |
|
United Kingdom |
Global FinTech Hackcelerator @ United Kingdom supported by UK Department for International Trade and KPMG United Kingdom |
|
United States of America |
FinTech Innovation Challenge organised by Women’s World Banking |
Global FinTech Hackcelerator Demo Day Schedule
|
Monday, 11 November 2019 |
|
|
1pm – 4.45pm |
5-minutes ‘live’ pitching session by Global FinTech Hackcelerator finalists, followed by 5-minutes of Q&A by a panel of industry judges |
Awards Presentation for Global FinTech Hackcelerator Winners
|
Monday, 11 November 2019 |
|
|
5.00pm |
Winners of First, Second and Third Prizes for Global FinTech Hackcelerator |
ANNEX B: Global FinTech Hackcelerator Finalists
|
Programme (Local / International) |
Company Name |
Solution Name |
Description of Company and Solution |
|
Local |
360F (Singapore) Pte Ltd |
360-ProVestment |
360-ProVestment is an artificial intelligence-enabled product recommendation engine for life insurance and wealth management. It strives to provide institutions with a reliable means to leverage their in-force policy data to not only identify up-sell and cross-sell opportunities but also detect the need for product portfolio review and prepare the customers for their next life stage. |
|
Local |
Value3 Advisory Pte Ltd |
algoCRED |
Value3 is a B2B capital markets artificial intelligence platform for independent, predictive and automated credit ratings, research and analytics. It combines financial data with unstructured online digital footprints, local and global news, corporate/regulatory events, market sentiments, geopolitics, demographics, industry trends and patterns of the companies from diverse sources to transform data overload into actionable insights. |
|
Local |
Advanced Fund Technology Group Pte Ltd |
Compliy |
Compliy incorporates smart automation and collaboration into the regulatory compliance process and enables financial institutions to respond to regulatory changes better. It also strives to help compliance teams save time and reduce regulatory costs through artificial intelligence-enabled regulatory insights, regulation management, and monitoring. |
|
Local |
CoverGo Limited |
CoverGo |
CoverGo enables insurers, brokers and bancassurance partners to digitise and distribute insurance products more quickly. It provides an end-to-end solution including instant pricing, underwriting, policy admin, claims, analytics and open insurance APIs to increase connectivity and automate insurance processes. It also allows insurers to integrate with distribution partners, online businesses and data providers to analyse customer profiles and distribute the most appropriate products at the most appropriate time. |
|
Local |
Arthance LLC |
DiligenceVault |
DiligenceVault is a digital diligence platform for asset managers and allocators. It strives to make the investment information exchange process easy and collaborative. For allocators, DiligenceVault facilitates the collection, structuring and normalisation of data across investments. For asset managers, DiligenceVault centralises content, data, documents and workflows to create a responsive and institutional client service outcome. |
|
Local |
Elifinty Ltd |
Elifinty |
Elifinty uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to give their youth customers insights into their spending and tailored financial tips. It also enables their customers to keep track of their financial activities. |
|
Local |
neoEYED, Inc |
neoEYED |
neoEYED is a behavioural artificial intelligence solution that helps banks and enterprises to detect digital identity frauds by analysing the way the users interact with web/mobile applications. |
|
Local |
Skyglyph AD |
Skyglyph |
Skyglyph is a collaborative web platform that uses remote sensing and machine learning for better crop monitoring and production risk management. It analyses images and other data from satellites, drones and even smartphones to detect crop damages and risks. |
|
Local |
Interactive Solutions for Financing LLC |
Solfeh |
Solfeh provides emergency cash loans to employees of their client organisations on an on-demand basis. Acting as an intermediary, Solfeh offers employees access to instant online microloans for which the employees will repay in instalments through monthly deductions from their salaries. |
|
Local |
Threadneedle Software Pte Ltd |
Solidatus |
Solidatus offers a business process engineering tool that enables the visualisation of complex processes and data flows, and seeks to enhance governance, business transformation and reporting. |
|
International (Abu Dhabi) |
Jibrel Network |
Jibrel Network |
Jibrel is a blockchain and smart contract development company that seeks to leverage on cryptography, distributed ledger and smart contract technologies to build financial networks. |
|
International (Abu Dhabi) |
RISQ Intelligent Software International Ltd |
RISQ |
RISQ seeks to enable businesses to be more efficient and effective through enabling automation and integration capabilities in financial software. |
|
International (Kenya) |
Bureau Vente Uganda Limited |
Maxtrace |
Maxtrace is a digital traceability and sustainability solution that track crops through the value chain, from farmer gate to the point of export. It seeks to enable price transparency and allows farmers who pass the inspection tests to be able to charge better pricing. |
|
International (Kenya) |
Kwaduara Limited |
Kwara |
Kwara helps to build safety nets by digitising savings cooperatives, which are member-owned financial associations that have a wider reach to the unbanked than the traditional institutions. It also seeks to enable the unbanked to have easy access to low-cost instant loans. |
|
International (South Africa) |
Ukheshe Payment Solutions (Pty) Ltd |
Ukheshe |
Ukheshe empowers merchants, traders, street vendors and freelancers to accept and make real-time digital payment without the need to have a bank account. Users can choose to withdraw their funds at a specific retail partner, top up their telecommunication or utility account, or send the funds to any mobile number. |
|
International (South Africa) |
MindBridge Analytics Inc. |
MindBridge AI |
MindBridge Analytics’ platform automates the ingestion and analysis of data, and learns from user interaction to identify financial data anomalies for analysts, finance professionals and regulatory teams. It leverages on its proprietary machine learning algorithms and its team of artificial intelligence professions to review all transactions to detect anomalous patterns of activity and to generate a risk-weighted analysis. |
|
International (United Kingdom) |
FLUIDLY LIMITED |
Fluidly |
Fluidly is a SME Financing start-up, which uses artificial intelligence to analyse the financial data in a company’s accounting system, and predict its future cashflow requirements. Based on the insights derived, Fluidly will empower accountants to provide suitable advice to their SMEs clients on the available financing options in the market. |
|
International (United Kingdom) |
SUADE LABS LTD |
Suade |
Suade is a regtech start-up, which automate regulatory data requirements for financial institutions and minimise the cost of change involved with a new iteration of financial regulations. Suade allows financial institutions to process large volume of granular data while complying with the required regulatory controls and governance. |
|
International (United States of America) |
AFLORE SAS |
Aflore |
Aflore is a direct sales network of financial services for the underbanked. It recruits women from the underbanked communities, and equip them with training, tools and support to become trusted financial advisors who will distribute loans and financial products within their trusted networks. |
|
International (United States of America) |
Pula Advisors GmbH |
Pula |
Pula restructures agricultural insurance and seeks to use technology to insure the previously unbanked, uninsured and untapped market of smallholders across the globe. It facilitates crop and livestock insurance coverage and works with Fortune 500 companies, global NGOs, research institutions, and governments to help provide smallholders the protection they need in an increasingly unpredictable climate. |
ANNEX C: Judging Panel and Corporate Mentors for the Local Programme
Judging Panel
|
Full Name |
Title |
Organisation |
|
Shruti Ajitsaria |
Head of Fuse |
Allen & Overy Fuse |
|
Robin Newnham |
Head of Policy Analysis and Capacity Building |
Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) |
|
Eddy Kwong |
Head of Digital Marketing |
Allianz |
|
Hetul Patel |
Head, Acturial |
Asia Capital Reinsurance |
|
Patrick Wei |
Partnership Director |
Aviva Ventures |
|
Celine Le Cotonnec |
Chief Data and Innovation Officer |
AXA |
|
Stephanie Magnus |
Head, Financial Services Regulatory and FinTech Practice |
Baker Mckenzie |
|
Nimish Shah |
Chief Digital Officer |
Bank of Singapore |
|
Vivien Jong |
Chief Digital Officer |
BNP Paribas |
|
Kanags Surendran |
Head, Digital Banking |
CIMB Bank |
|
Sandra Lam |
Innovation Catalyst and FinTech Partnerships Lead, VP |
Citi |
|
Jinesh Patel |
Partner |
Dymon Asia |
|
Mark Yuen |
Chief Business Development Officer |
Fullerton Fund Management |
|
Jeffrey Paine |
Founding Partner |
Golden Gate Ventures |
|
Rajiv Chandna |
Head of Growth, Business Development and Strategy |
Grab |
|
Ang Khim Siong |
VP, Strategy and Transformation |
Great Eastern |
|
Emma White |
Product Lead |
IAG |
|
Carmen Wee |
Chief Executive Officer |
Investment Management Association of Singapore (IMAS) |
|
Borja Garcia Haendler |
Director, Market Risk and Product Control |
Julius Baer |
|
Allwyn Barreto |
Partner, Financial Services Consulting |
KPMG (Singapore) |
|
Tan Chee Khiong |
Principal Advisor |
KPMG (Singapore) |
|
Jan Reinmueller |
Head of Digital Village |
KPMG (Singapore) |
|
Paul Brenchley |
Partner, Financial Services Consulting |
KPMG (Singapore) |
|
Umair Hameed |
Partner |
KPMG (United Arab Emirates) |
|
Shwetank Verma |
Co-founder and Partner |
Leo.Capital |
|
Tan Lay Hoon |
Chief Operations Officer |
Manulife |
|
Vincent Teo |
VP, Head of Business and FinTech Engagement |
OCBC |
|
Loretta Yuen |
EVP, Head of Group Legal and Regulatory Compliance |
OCBC |
|
Kalai Natarajan |
SVP, Transformation Office, Head of Strategic Engagements |
Prudential Assurance Corporation Singapore |
|
Alvin Nand |
Chief Operating Officer, Asia |
QBE Insurance |
|
Jessica Shearer |
Head of Digital Strategy and Propositions APAC |
Schroders |
|
Charlotte Wood |
Global Head of Innovation |
Schroders |
|
Chia Hock Lai |
President |
Singapore Fintech Association |
|
Hugh Terry |
Founder |
The Digital Insurer |
|
James Aylen |
Head of UBS Evolve |
UBS |
|
Fakhrul Islam |
Fund Facility Coordinator |
United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) |
|
Simon Goo |
Head of Group Risk Analytics |
UOB |
|
Chua Chek Ping |
Executive Director, Strategic Alliances and Fintech, Group Channels and Digitalisation |
UOB |
|
Wijaya Elham |
Chief Operating Officer |
UOB Asset Management |
|
Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai |
Managing Director |
Vietnam Microfinance Working Group |
|
Kara-mae Lim |
Head of Product, Singapore and Brunei |
Visa |
|
Nithyasri Sharma |
Strategy Specialist |
Women's World Banking |
|
Karen Miller |
VP of Marketing and Communications |
Women's World Banking |
|
Hang Thu Vu |
Financial Sector Specialist |
World Bank |
|
Benedikt Signer |
Senior Financial Sector Specialist |
World Bank |
Corporate Champions
|
Global FinTech Hackcelerator Finalist |
Corporate Champion |
Corporate Mentor |
Designation of Corporate Mentor |
|
360F |
Great Eastern |
Ang Khim Siong |
VP of Strategy and Transformation |
|
Compliy |
Shanghai Pudong Development Bank |
Nelson Png Chen Guanghong |
Head of Compliance Head of IT |
|
CoverGo |
AIA |
Ai Chin Chiew |
Chief Strategy Officer |
|
DiligenceVault |
Deutsche Bank |
Warren Lee |
Innovation Specialist |
|
Elifinty Ltd |
DBS Bank |
Bidyut Dumra |
Head of Innovation |
|
neoEYED |
AXA |
Celine Le Cotonnec Jonathan Chan |
Chief Data and Innovation Officer Data and Innovation Manager |
|
Skyglyph |
Citi |
Sandra Lam |
VP of Innovation Catalyst and FinTech Partnerships Lead |
|
Solfeh |
Grab Holdings |
Rajiv Chandra |
Head of Growth, Business Development and Strategy |
|
Solidatus |
UBS |
James Aylen |
Head of UBS Evolve |
|
Value3 Advisory |
Allianz |
Eddy Kwong |
Director and Head of Digital Marketing |
[1] The MAS Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) Proof of Concept (POC) scheme provides funding support for experimentation, development and dissemination of nascent innovative technologies in the financial services sector.
[2] Deal Fridays are curated deal-making sessions for facilitating investment into start-ups and held every Friday from 21 June to 25 October 2019. The 20 finalists of the Global FinTech Hackcelerator had a dedicated Deal Fridays session for them to network and pitch to investors.
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