In Singapore’s push to be a Global-Asia node for technology, innovation, and enterprise, the government has been supporting the close partnership between research institutions, enterprises and public organisations.
Singapore has gained global recognition as a regional innovation centre, ranking first in Asia on the 2019 Global Innovation Index.
Companies in Singapore’s innovation-driven economy can develop new technologies or adopt tech solutions that can help them become more competitive globally.
Come November 2019, Singapore will be a mecca for the seekers and purveyors of digital solutions and innovations.
The Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) and the Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SWITCH) will come together as SFF x SWITCH to host to host the world’s largest FinTech festival and global platform for deep tech innovation from 11 to 15 November 2019.
Brought to you by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Enterprise Singapore, and the National Research Foundation (NRF), SFF x SWITCH participants will gain insights from global thought leaders and network with international innovators, investors and collaborators.
SFF x SWITCH will feature various innovative technologies across five key sectors: FinTech, Urban Solutions and Sustainability, Health and Biomedical Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, and Digital Services.
3-Day Conference & Exhibition, 2-Day Innovation Lab Crawl
Part of the SFF x SWITCH experience includes access to the three-day Conference & Exhibition segments of the event, happening from 11 to 13 November 2019 at the Singapore Expo.
An inaugural theme at the Conference component will feature sustainability.
Other topics include Financial Services, Industry 4.0 – Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Cloud and Cybersecurity, Financial Inclusion, Green Finance, Technology Beyond Finance, and more.
As for the Exhibition component, participants can explore the various country pavilions, speak to industry exhibitors, check out finance and deep tech showcase booths, and hang out at the startup zone.
Participants can also look forward to three competitions for the global innovation community:
- Global FinTech Hackcelerator, which matches innovative startup solutions to address industry’s problem statements;
- SLINGSHOT 2019, an international startup pitching competition; and
- FinTech Awards, which recognises innovative financial technology solutions.
Finalists from the competitions will showcase their solutions at SFF x SWITCH.
There will be two Deal-Making Platforms catered to investors and companies:
- Deal Fridays, curated deal-making sessions for facilitating investment into startups, that will run every Friday from 21 June to 25 November 2019; and
- TechInnovation, a technology-to-industry matching marketplace which facilitates business matching within the industry, seeds licensing opportunities and fosters open innovation collaborations.
The new Deal Fridays platform is an initiative by ESG and MAS to facilitate interactions and catalyse potential partnerships between startups and investors.
Deal Fridays is a curated investor-startup matchmaking events hosted every Fiday, from now till November, to encourage investments to ASEAN tech companies across different domains, including FinTech.
Other themes include financial inclusion and sustainable finance, water/waste/energy tech, medtech/digital health and insurtech, agrifood-tech, regtech, and edtech.
On 23 October, a sector-agnostic deal mixer event will take place.
The platform selects companies and investors based on their theme and profiles and enable potential partners to engage meaningfully in their short one-on-one sessions and explore their fit.
Deal Fridays is open to investors and companies across early and growth stages from various industries.
On 14 and 15 November 2019, participants can take part in an Innovation Lab Crawl across Singapore.
A*Star ARTC labs, MPA Living Labs, and ST Innovsparks are among the participating innovation labs to be open for visits, offering participants opportunities to network with startups and key innovation players.
No Boundaries For FinTech And Innovation
Last year, the SFF and SWITCH events attracted close to 57,000 delegates from almost 130 countries.
“The Singapore FinTech Festival is the world’s largest FinTech gathering and a marquee event for the global FinTech community,” said Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS.
“Our partnership with SWITCH this year allows us to engage technology ecosystems beyond FinTech, and to present a comprehensive showcase of innovations that benefit all segments of society.”
Mr Peter Ong, Chairman of Enterprise Singapore noted that SFF x SWITCH is the platform that brings together global tech communities and startups “to bridge the gap between technology and finance”.
“Singapore hosts a vibrant community of innovation enablers, enterprises and startups to drive co-innovation of new solutions relevant to global needs and modern challenges,” he added.
“Our strong connectivity to the region will serve as a gateway for enterprises and market-driven solutions to reach Asia and beyond.”
Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NRF, Dr Cheong Wei Yang expressed excitement as he anticipates “new business models and novel technologies” to be borne out of the event.
“We will focus on deep tech areas relevant to Singapore’s growth as a Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise,” he said.
For more information on SFF x SWITCH 2019, please visit the website here.
Featured Image Credit: Singapore FinTech Festival Facebook
