World’s largest FinTech Festival has started in Singapore today hosting more than 25,000 participants from over 100 countries. The weeklong event promises a platform for connection, collaboration and co-creation for the FinTech community around the world. Arun Jaitley, India’s Finance Minister and Minister of Corporate is also expected to participate in the festival.
The major highlights of the festival include FinTech conference, innovation lab crawl, Global Fintech Hackcelerator, FinTech awards recognising promising startups and several networking events. However, a novel concept of Investor Summit or ‘Deal Day’ has been introduced this year that will provide an opportunity for Singapore-based fintech startups to access funding from a variety of local and global investors.
The festival is being organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in partnership with The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) and in collaboration with SingEx Holdings.
Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS, said, “We are pleased that the Singapore FinTech Festival has grown this year, to become the world’s largest FinTech Festival. It is a synergistic platform for the global FinTech community to spark new ideas and gain valuable insights.”
He added, “There will be many opportunities for financial institutions and FinTech companies to come together and collaborate on value-adding partnerships. We are excited to build on the success of the inaugural Festival last year, and continue in our efforts to foster a thriving global FinTech ecosystem. It is a key thrust of our efforts to establish Singapore as a Smart Financial Centre and a transformational FinTech hub.”
Speaking about participation of more countries in this year FinTech festival, specially from ASEAN countries, Ong-Ang Ai Boon, ABS Director, said, “ABS is proud to partner MAS for the second Singapore FinTech Festival. This year, we saw not only more participants overall but also an increase in the number of countries represented. For ASEAN especially, we are pleased that registrations have doubled from last year.”
She added, “We are encouraged by the continued support and enthusiasm shown by the FinTech community as they join us in what will be a robust exchange of ideas and exhibition of innovative solutions at the Festival. We look forward to yet another exciting and memorable event.”
Aloysius Arlando, Chief Executive Officer, SingEx Holdings, said, “We embodied the spirit of ‘festivalisation’ where delegates to the FinTech conference and exhibition will find themselves immersed in a multi-sensory and digital experience. They will journey through 10 theme-based zones which feature more than 300 exhibitors, starts-up and country pavilions showcasing their innovative solutions; four stages of topical conferences with a stellar lineup of international and authoritative speakers; and an eclectic array of culinary delights from Singapore’s leading chefs and F&B rising stars.”
The most important part of the festival is a three-day FinTech conference (November 14-16) in which more than 160 leaders from central banks and regulatory agencies, financial institutions, venture capital firms, and FinTech companies will be speaking at the conference. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands will be speaking on using inclusive technology to build a better future, in her capacity as UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. Arun Jaitley, India’s Finance Minister and Minister of Corporate will give the opening address on the second day of the FinTech Conference.
The Conference will focus on nine key themes, including global market insights; data analytics; tech risk; sustainable FinTech; and the future of FinTech.
The Global FinTech Hackcelerator (November 16) will showcase 20 market-ready FinTech solutions that were shortlisted from amongst 580 global submissions. These solutions are intended to solve real-life industry problems in four areas, including customer-facing solutions, regulatory technology (RegTech), and financial inclusion.
The FinTech Awards will be organised on November 16. It will recognise the most outstanding innovative FinTech solutions that have been implemented by FinTech companies, financial institutions, and technology companies. Deputy Prime Minister, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, will grace the occasion.
Participants will also be able to visit the complementary FinTech Exhibition at the Singapore Expo. More than 300 exhibitors from financial institutions, technology, and FinTech companies, will showcase their respective innovative technological solutions.
There will also be a ‘Talent Pavilion’ that will showcase the exciting roles in FinTech and available FinTech courses for individuals interested to pursue a career in FinTech or pick up new skills in this area. Participants can also seek personal advice from career coaches present and attend specially curated panels on talent and skills development.
Earlier, the festival started today with the island-wide Innovation Lab Crawl in which 24 FinTech innovation labs across Singapore showcased their solutions and offered tours and exhibitions to demonstrate their latest solutions. An Open Banking Masterclass was also organised in which participants got an in-depth understanding about the architecture and design of an open banking system and how collaboration between financial institutions and FinTech companies enable innovative solutions for better customer experience.