The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced today the 20 finalists for the 2020 Global FinTech Hackcelerator. The finalists this year comprise several unique solutions that seek to drive positive social and environmental impact within the financial sector, in response to the challenges posed by COVID-19 and climate change.
The Global FinTech Hackcelerator identifies innovative market-ready solutions to address real industry needs. The finalists will pitch their solutions at the Global FinTech Hackcelerator Demo Day at the 2020 Singapore FinTech Festival x Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SFF x SWITCH).
Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS said, “Over the past four years, the Global FinTech Hackcelerator has provided FinTechs from Singapore and around the world with an excellent platform to showcase innovative solutions that can solve key problems within the financial industry. This year, there is added urgency to address pressing challenges brought about by COVID-19 and climate change. This is evident from the record number of problem statements submitted by the industry. We look forward to seeing our finalists use the Global FinTech Hackcelerator as a launchpad towards greater success while helping the financial industry tackle the health, economic, and climate crises facing our generation.”
The finalists were selected through two parallel segments – the Local Programme, which addressed high-priority problem statements collated from the finance industry in Singapore and globally; and the International Programme, which comprised solutions from winners of FinTech competitions organised by international partners.
• In the Local Programme, supported by KPMG Digital Village, 10 finalists were shortlisted from over 270 submissions from across more than 40 countries. These submissions addressed a record 107 problem statements across four categories: Responding to a Global Pandemic; Green Finance Solutions; Green Finance Enablers; and Sustainability. More than 150 of the submissions came from Asia and about a third were from Singapore.
• The International Programme participants comprised 10 winners from six independent FinTech competitions organised by our international partners. This year, the Global FinTech Hackcelerator’s international partners are Abu Dhabi Global Market, Accelpoint, the Saudi G20 Presidency and the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub, the Central Bank of Kenya, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and Women’s World Banking.In total, more than 700 FinTechs spanning across the globe participated in the International Programme.
During Demo Day on 10 December, 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.
In addition, the finalists will exhibit their solutions as part of the Digital Showcase at SFF x SWITCH. The finalists will also be invited to a dedicated Deal Friday networking session in November to meet potential investors.
