SINGAPORE, Nov. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) announced the award winners of the Global FinTech Hackcelerator, the SFF Global FinTech Awards and the Most Innovative FinTech e-Gifting Award, at the Singapore FinTech Festival. The winners, comprising financial institutions, FinTechs and solution providers, were recognised for their ground-breaking solutions that promote financial inclusion and sustainable development in the financial industry.
MAS and SFA Announce Award Winners at Singapore FinTech Festival
Global FinTech Hackcelerator
The theme for this year's Global FinTech Hackcelerator is "Harnessing Technology to Power Green Finance". The winners of the Global FinTech Hackcelerator were selected at Demo Day, held during SFF on 8 November 2021, where 20 finalists pitched their innovations to an international industry panel. Please refer to Annex A for the details of the competition and the judging panel. The top three teams are (in no order of merit)[1]:
Company Name |
Solution Name |
Country |
Descartes Insurance Asia Pte Ltd |
Descartes' Parametric Insurance |
France |
RootAnt Global Pte Ltd and Global Initiatives Communications Pte Ltd |
BANCO |
Singapore |
YOUKI GmbH |
WATTIFY |
Germany |
Descartes Insurance's winning solution processes data from satellite imagery, IoT, radars and sensors of partners to provide insurance coverage on natural catastrophic events with guaranteed and pre-determined payouts, which would be disbursed within a few days of the event. RootAnt and Global Initiatives' solution incorporates sustainability elements onto a digital platform to assess the sustainability preparedness of SMEs suppliers in the value chain, and empower them to raise green financing from banks. YOUKI's WATTIFY tokenises renewable energy assets into investment products with smaller ticket size to increase its accessibility to a wider pool of investors. It also facilitates the onboarding of investors in a manner conforming to regulations, and matches investors with appropriate investment opportunities.
SFF Global FinTech Awards
The SFF Global FinTech Awards brings together the FinTech Awards previously presented separately by MAS and SFA. The theme for this year's Awards is "Emerging from a pandemic, the road to recovery."
The 49 winners across 12 award categories were selected from a total of 298 submissions. The winners were chosen by an international panel comprising industry experts across multiple domains. Please refer to Annex B for the details of the competition and the judging panel.
The winners for the SFF Global FinTech Awards 2021 (presented by MAS) are[2]:
Award Category |
Placing |
Company Name |
Solution Name |
Singapore FinTech (Singapore Founder) |
1st |
GoalsMapper Pte Ltd |
GoalsMapper |
2nd |
Aleta Planet Pte Ltd |
AP-1 |
|
3rd |
Brick Pte Ltd |
Financial Data APIs |
|
ASEAN FinTech |
1st |
ShuttleOne Pte Ltd |
ShuttleOne Network |
2nd |
Regtank Technology Pte Ltd |
Regtank Compliance Solution |
|
3rd |
Funding Asia Group Pte Ltd |
Modal Kawan Mikro (Micro Friends Capital) |
|
Singapore Financial Institution |
1st |
Asia Wealth Platform Pte Ltd |
StashAway Wealth Management Solutions |
2nd |
NTUC Income Insurance Cooperative Limited |
SNACK by Income |
|
3rd |
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (Singapore Branch) |
ICBC Digital Trade Solutions |
|
Global |
1st |
ReMark International B.V. |
Good Life & BAM |
2nd |
FinScore Inc |
FinScore A.C.E (Alternative Credit Evaluation) Portal |
|
3rd |
Nect GmbH |
Selfie-Ident |
The winners for the SFF Global FinTech Awards 2021 (presented by SFA) are:
Award Category (Individual) (Winners are presented with a commemorative plaque) |
Individual Name |
Company |
Top 10 FinTech Leaders |
Caecilia Chu |
YouTrip |
Calvin Choi |
AMTD Digital |
|
Dhruv Arora |
Syfe |
|
Rahul Banerjee |
BondEvalue |
|
Rob Schimek |
Bolttech |
|
Tuhina Singh |
Propine |
|
Valenzia Yap |
PolicyPal Group |
|
Varun Mittal |
EY |
|
Venkatesh Saha |
Wise |
|
Vikas Nahata |
Validus |
|
ASEAN FinTech Leaders |
Hendra Kwik |
Fazz Financial Group |
Kanagasabapathy Surendran |
CIMB Bank Berhad |
|
Marek Hovorka |
Übank by VPBank |
|
Mark Lo |
AMTD Group |
|
Sigit Kouwagam |
Bibit.id |
|
Women in FinTech |
Melissa Wong |
Bolttech |
Samantha Horton |
Syfe Pte Ltd |
|
Smrithi Ravi |
Wise |
|
FinTech Leaders Under 30 |
Ian Lee |
Merkle Science |
Lisa Schroeder |
Vestr |
|
Milena Naitoh |
Validus |
|
Award Category (Corporate) |
Company |
|
FinTech Employer of the Year |
Advance Intelligence Group |
|
Nium |
||
Revolut Technologies Singapore |
||
Spark Systems |
||
Wise |
||
Knowledge Enterprise Award |
AMTD Group |
|
Apptio Singapore |
||
Smartkarma Innovations |
||
Social Impact Award |
Credolab |
|
MoneyOwl |
||
Western Union |
||
Partners of FinTech |
AMTD Digital |
|
Digital Treasures Center |
||
F10 Global Innovation Network Singapore |
||
GrabTaxi Holdings |
||
Whitechalk (Surer) |
||
Innovative E-Gifting Solution Awards
MAS encourages the public to use e-payments instead of physical notes for gifting during celebratory occasions and festivals, to build a greener and more sustainable future. The winners of the two new e-gifting awards are:
The entries were assessed by the Association of Banks Singapore (ABS) and SFA based on utility, impact, and innovation.[3] Additional points were awarded to solutions that helped users reduce their carbon footprint.
Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS, said, "The Global FinTech Hackcelerator, FinTech Awards and inaugural Innovative E-Gifting Solution Awards seek to champion and recognise innovative, high quality solutions that transform industry practices in the financial industry and develop opportunities for growth. It is heartening to see many impactful leading-edge digital solutions competing for this year's Awards. In particular, the winning entries from financial institutions, FinTechs and technology providers displayed strong potential to enhance the growth and resilience of the financial sector as economies recover from the pandemic. Heartiest congratulations to all the winners!"
Mr Shadab Taiyabi, President of SFA, said, "The ground-breaking and innovative solutions that were recognised during the Global FinTech Awards are testament to the potential that technology holds in addressing challenges faced by the financial industry. As the economy gradually moves into a post-pandemic recovery phase, SFA remains committed to supporting and encouraging financial innovation that seeks to harness technology to power green finance, create growth opportunities and promote financial inclusion. We wish the heartiest of congratulations to all winners of the Global FinTech Awards, Global FinTech Hackcelerator and E-Gifting Solution Awards, and hope that these are just the start to many more solutions to come in the future."
PR Newswire is the Supporting Media Partner of Singapore FinTech Festival 2021.
About the Singapore FinTech Festival
Singapore is hosting two marquee events for the global innovation community from 8 to 12 November 2021 – the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) and Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SWITCH). SFF is the world's largest FinTech event and a global platform for the FinTech community comprising FinTech players, technopreneurs, policy makers, financial industry leaders, investors including private equity players and venture capitalists, and academics. In 2020, SFF and SWITCH saw 60,000 participants from over 160 countries with more than 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 organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in partnership with The Association of Banks in Singapore and in collaboration with Constellar Holdings. Find out more about SFF, the largest and most impactful gathering of FinTech professionals in the world, and SWITCH, Asia's leading tech festival at www.fintechfestival.sg and www.switchsg.org.
About the Monetary Authority of Singapore
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is Singapore'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. It manages Singapore's exchange rate, official foreign reserves, and liquidity in the banking sector. As an integrated financial supervisor, MAS fosters 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. It is also responsible for well-functioning financial markets, sound conduct, and investor education. MAS also works with the financial industry to promote Singapore as a dynamic international financial centre. It facilitates the development of infrastructures, adoption of technology, and upgrading of skills in the financial industry.
About Singapore FinTech Association (SFA)
The SFA is a cross-industry and non-profit organisation. Its purpose is to support the development of the FinTech industry in Singapore, and to facilitate collaboration among the participants and stakeholders of the FinTech ecosystem in Singapore. The SFA is a member-based organisation with over 800+ members. It represents the full range of stakeholders in the FinTech industry, from early-stage innovative companies to large financial players and service providers. To further its purpose, the SFA also partners with institutions and associations from Singapore and globally to cooperate on initiatives relating to the FinTech industry. Well connected globally, the SFA has signed over 70 international Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to lay the network for its members and ecosystem.
Annex A – About Global FinTech Hackcelerator 2021
The Global FinTech Hackcelerator publishes high-priority business challenges and invites FinTech solution providers with a market-ready solution from around the world to submit their applications on how they intend to solve these challenges with their proprietary solutions.
The competition comprises two parallel scouting programmes – the Local and International Programmes. The Local Programme tackles problem statements originating from the finance industry in Singapore and globally; and the International Programme comprises FinTech challenges organised by international partners.
Local Programme
Organised by MAS and supported by Oliver Wyman, the programme seeks to unlock the potential of FinTech in accelerating the development of green finance in Singapore and the region. MAS collected over 50 problem statements from financial institutions and green finance industry players. These problem statements focus on three key challenges:
10 finalists were shortlisted by a panel of industry experts to join a 12-week virtual programme to work with an assigned Corporate Champion, who will provide mentorship and guidance to refine the solution to the institution's or industry's context.
International Programme
The Global FinTech Hackcelerator's International Programme features independent competitions and programmes run by selected international partners around the world.
Selected Partners include:
10 winners from the international programmes run by international partners were fast-tracked into the finals of the Global FinTech Hackcelerator.
Rewards for Finalists and Winners
All 20 finalists from the Local and International Programmes received a S$20,000 cash stipend, and were invited to a dedicated Deal Fridays networking session in November to meet with potential investors.[4] They will be eligible for a fast-tracked application for MAS' Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) Proof-of-Concept grant (up to S$200,000). The finalists presented their solutions during the Global FinTech Hackcelerator Demo Day to an esteemed panel of judges and the top three winners received S$50,000 each in prize money.
Winning Solutions of the 2021 Global FinTech Hackcelerator
Company Name |
Solution Name |
Description of Company and Solution |
Country |
Descartes Insurance Asia Pte. Ltd. |
Descartes' Parametric Insurance |
Unlike traditional insurance which relies on lengthy loss adjustment procedures and restrictive cover, Descartes' parametric insurance products pay out when a predefined event (i.e., flood, cyclone, earthquake, lack of wind or solar energy etc.) occurs as measured by a specified parameter or index (rainfall, wind speed, peak ground acceleration, solar radiation etc.). The indemnity is defined upfront, so the cover is wider and more transparent than traditional insurance, and claims can be paid in only a few days. Their solution is based on artificial intelligence and neural network models, developed by their in-house data science team. Descartes handles petaoctets of data (~10^6 time more than a traditional insurer), derived from satellite imagery, IoT, radars and sensors. The data is sourced from partners such as NASA, JAXA, ESA, weather agencies (ECMWF, USGS), or IoT providers (Understory, Hailios). |
France |
RootAnt Global Pte Ltd and Global Initiatives Communications Pte Ltd |
BANCO |
RootAnt Global & Global Initiatives have joined hands to incorporate sustainability elements onto a digital platform (BANCO by RootAnt) that helps SMEs suppliers in the value chain become more sustainable, enhance creditworthiness and therefore raise green financing. BANCO digitises supply chain commerce which results in an Irrevocable Payment Undertaking (IPU) from the buyer (usually a large corporate) to the seller. It also assesses the sustainability preparedness of each supplier, using a framework designed for smaller companies based on peer comparison within each sector. Each respondent receives a score (the Singapore Sustainability Index) along with a gap analysis which identifies an improvement plan. Banks can leverage on the IPU, sustainability score and the action plan to start offering green financing to the SMEs on the platform itself. |
Singapore |
YOUKI GmbH |
WATTIFY |
WATTIFY by YOUKI is an open energy asset tokenisation platform for crowd-investments which will transform the way impact investments are handled today. It will allow anybody to invest in promising renewable energy projects of various lengths and development stages. With WATTIFY, it will be easy to make and hold control of investments while being able to track the environmental impact (CO2 savings). It tokenises renewable energy assets, facilitates the onboarding of investors in a manner conforming to all regulations, and matches investors with appropriate investment opportunities. |
Germany |
Demo Day Industry Panel for the Selection of Winning Solutions
Name |
Title |
Organisation |
Ben Balzer |
Partner and Head of Private Capital, APAC |
Oliver Wyman |
Bidyut Dumra |
Executive Director & Head of Innovation |
DBS |
Chia Tek Yew |
Chairman, Sustainability Committee |
Singapore FinTech Association |
Darian McBain |
Chief Sustainability Officer |
Monetary Authority of Singapore |
Gautam Mukharya |
Chief Risk Officer, HSBC Singapore |
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) |
Lim Jin Huei Eric |
Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of Group Finance |
United Overseas Bank Limited |
Peter Murray |
Head of Financial Services, ASEAN |
Amazon Web Services |
Valerie Lau, CFA |
Head of Southeast Asia and Singapore, APAC Sustainable Finance Office |
UBS AG, Singapore |
Walter de Oude |
Founder and Deputy Chairman, SingLife |
Aviva Singlife Holdings Pte Ltd |
Winnie Tan |
Senior Vice President of Sustainability |
Great Eastern Holdings |
ANNEX B – About SFF Global FinTech Awards 2021
The Global FinTech Awards, powered by PwC Singapore, recognises innovative FinTech solutions by FinTech companies, financial institutions, and technology companies, as well as individuals and companies whose initiatives have contributed significantly to the FinTech ecosystem. The SFF Global FinTech Awards 2021 brings together the FinTech Awards previously presented separately by MAS and SFA. The grand sponsor of the SFA Category within the SFF Global FinTech Awards is Singapore's latest AI unicorn, Advance Intelligence Group.
The theme for this year's Awards is "Emerging from a pandemic, the road to recovery." The Awards seeks to recognise ground-breaking FinTech initiatives which have helped create new growth opportunities, transform industry practices, and promote financial inclusion amid the challenging circumstances.
The SFF Global FinTech Awards Categories are:
MAS |
SFA |
For corporates |
For individuals |
|
|
For Corporates |
|
|
The winners were selected by a panel of judges comprising international experts across multiple domains. All finalists were evaluated on 4 criteria: (i) Impact, (ii) Practicality, (iii) Interoperability, and (iv) Uniqueness and Creativity.
The Awards were hosted on API Exchange (APIX[5]), a cloud-based innovation platform which allows firms to source for FinTech solutions for specific focus areas and for these solutions to be curated, contextualised, and validated.
Judging Panel for the 2021 SFF Global FinTech Awards Winners
Full Name |
Title |
Organisation |
Amit Anand |
Founding Partner of Jungle Venture |
Jungle Ventures |
Andrew Taggart |
Experience Centre Leader, SEA Consulting |
PwC |
Anton Ruddenklau |
Head of Financial Services Advisory |
KPMG |
Brian Thung |
Managing Partner, ASEAN Financial Services |
EY |
Celine Heissat Le Cotonnec |
Chief Data Innovation Officer |
Bank of Singapore |
Chua Chwee |
Global Head, Cognitive Science and Automation, Operations Innovation |
Schroders |
Connie Leung |
Senior Director, Financial Services Business Lead, Asia |
Microsoft |
Edward Bizaoui |
APAC Head of CIB Markets Technology and Singapore Technology Centre Lead |
JP Morgan |
Frank Desvignes |
Global Head |
AXA Next Labs |
Gautam Mukharya |
Chief Risk Officer, Environmental / Climate Risk & Innovation |
HSBC |
Ho Kok Yong |
Chief Strategy & Operations Officer |
Deloitte |
Jeff Lin |
Principal |
Iglobepartners |
Lawrence Chan |
Group CEO |
Nets |
Matt Wood |
APAC Head of Digital and Fintech Partnerships |
VISA |
Melissa Moi |
Head of ESG, Asia Pacific |
Bank of America |
Patrick Lemmens |
Executive Director, Portfolio Manager Global Financials/ FinTechs |
Robeco |
Pranav Seth |
Chief Digital Officer |
Techcombank |
Praveen Raina |
Head of Group Operations & Technology |
OCBC |
Rama Sridhar |
Executive VP, Digital & Emerging Partnerships, New Payment Flows, Asia Pacific |
Mastercard |
Susan Hwee |
MD & Head, Technology & Operations |
UOB |
Victor Alexiev |
Director, Head of Programs and Strategic Partnerships |
Citi Bank |
Victoria Sanchez-Terry |
Head, FinTech Asia |
ING |
[1] The top three winners will receive S$50,000 each in prize money.
[2] The prize money for each of the top 3 winners of the respective award categories is as follows:
[3] The entries were assessed based on the extent to which the solution is simple, safe and speedy to use, how well the solution replicates the experience of traditional gifting methods (taking into account cultural norms and social behaviours) and how engaging and exciting the solution is to incentivise consumer adoption.
[4] Deal Fridays are curated deal-making sessions for facilitating investment into start-ups. They are held once a month on Fridays from March to December 2021. The 20 finalists of the Global FinTech Hackcelerator participated in a dedicated Deal Fridays session on 22 October 2021 for them to network and pitch to investors.
[5] APIX (www.apixplatform.com) is a flagship product of the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN), a not-for-profit entity formed by MAS, the International Finance Corporation and the ASEAN Bankers Association. Its objective is to support financial innovation and inclusion around the world.
