MAS announces finalists for 2024 Global FinTech Hackcelerator and FinTech Excellence Awards

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced the 42 finalists for the 2024 Global FinTech Hackcelerator and the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) FinTech Excellence Awards. The winners will be revealed at the SFF FinTech Excellence Awards 2024 dinner on 7 November 2024.

Global FinTech Hackcelerator 2024

The theme for this year’s Global FinTech Hackcelerator is ‘Improving Financial Health’.

This year’s competition aims to advance the development of suitable financial products and tools that can improve financial health. This can be an important enabler to empower individuals and businesses to manage resources effectively to build financial resilience.

The 18 finalists, comprising FinTech firms and solution providers from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States, submitted proposals with innovative and market-ready solutions that utilise technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).

The finalists will undergo a two-day programme, organised by Elevandi, a not-for-profit entity set up by MAS to connect people and businesses, ideas and insights in the FinTech sector in Singapore and globally.

Under this programme, they will have opportunities to collaborate and network with corporate firms, investors, and industry professionals to further refine their solutions and pitch. They will also work with assigned Corporate Champions, who will provide mentorship.

They will then pitch their solutions at the Global FinTech Hackcelerator Demo Day at the SFF on 6 November 2024. All finalists will receive an SGD 20,000 cash stipend. The top 3 winners will each receive SGD 50,000 in prize money.

SFF FinTech Excellence Awards 2024

The Awards, jointly organised with the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) and supported by PwC Singapore, seek to recognise innovative FinTech solutions by corporate firms and individuals.

This year, the award categories were revamped to be more outcome-focused, related to how the solutions have enhanced impact and effectiveness in key areas such as financial inclusion and regulatory compliance. A thematic Corporate category in AI and Quantum was also introduced. More than 200 submissions were received across the six award categories.

For the five Corporate categories (Emerging FinTech; Financial Inclusivity; Regulatory Leader; Sustainable Innovator; and Thematic – Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Champion), a total of 175 submissions were received, of which 4 finalists were shortlisted for each category.

For the Individual category, the FinTech Mentor Award, 29 submissions were received, of which 4 finalists were shortlisted.

Building on last year’s ‘FinTech Gives Back’ initiative, this year saw 12 members of the FinTech community contributing to support the Awards.

Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS, said, “Congratulations to all the finalists announced [on October 28]. Your innovative solutions inspire us and push the boundaries for shaping a more inclusive and dynamic future. It is also heartening to witness the strong support for the ‘FinTech Gives Back’ initiative, which contributes to the continual advancement of our FinTech sector.”

Wong Wanyi, FinTech Leader, PwC Singapore, said, “This year, quantum computing has gained attention from financial institutions and governments globally. It’s encouraging to see companies investing in quantum technology, underscoring the need to be ready for a quantum-powered future. Alongside AI, these advancements are not just tools, but catalysts for a new era focused on security, efficiency, and customer-centric solutions.”