Singapore FinTech Festival Kicks Off with Over 850 Expert Speakers and 450 FinTech Exhibitors

The seventh edition of the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) kicks off today as an in-person event from 31 October to 4 November. Organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Elevandi, the theme of SFF 2022 is ‘Building Resilient Business Models amid Volatility and Change’. 

2. SFF 2022 will see more than 850 expert speakers and over 250 hours of content across its week-long programme. The Festival is expected to draw participants from more than 110 countries and 2,000 organisations. It will feature 450 exhibitors and 25 international pavilions across the exhibition hall.

3. The by-invitation only Capital Meets Policy Dialogue, to be held on 1 November, will bring together policymakers and investors to discuss the current innovations in financial services, exchange views on emerging risks, and share perspectives on FinTech regulation.

4. The Innovation Lab Crawl, to be held on 31 October and 1 November, will feature 26 participating organisations, including Asia FinTech Center, Capgemini, NEC Laboratories, BNY Mellon, DBS and HSBC. Located across Singapore, these organisations will showcase their latest FinTech innovations in areas such as alternative investments, decentralised investments, and insurance.

5. The Conference segment of the SFF, to be held from 2 to 4 November, will feature more than 400 sessions with government leaders, policymakers, innovators, economists, corporate leaders, and FinTech entrepreneurs. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Mr Lawrence Wong, will open the Conference on 2 November. Key speakers from abroad include: 

• Ms Adrienne A. Harris, Superintendent, New York Department of Financial Services
• T.V. Mohandas Pai, Chairman, Aarin Capital and Chairman, 3one4 Capital
• Ms Sheila Bair, Former Chair, US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Senior Fellow, Center for Financial Stability, and Senior Advisor and Founding Chair, Systemic Risk Council
• Bram Cohen, Director, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Chia Network Inc
• Brian Armstrong, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Coinbase
• Ms Angel Zhao, President, International Business, Ant Group
• Ms Martha Sazon, President and Chief Executive Officer, GCash
• Mark FitzPatrick, Chief Executive Officer, Prudential plc
• Dr Stuart Haber, Principal, Stuart Haber Crypto, LLC
• John Tanagho, Executive Director, International Justice Mission Center to End Online Sexual Exploitation of Children, International Justice Mission 
• Sonam Wangchuk, Founder, Himalayan Institute of Alternatives
• Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation.

6. A highlight of the Conference segment is the inaugural Elevandi Insights Forum, which will bring together experts from entities such as the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub, the Milken Institute, and the Institute of International Finance, for a series of deep-dive roundtable discussions on issues such as cross-border payments, open finance, Web3, and digital assets. The participants will then follow up through industry whitepapers and lighthouse projects.

7. SFF 2022 will see the return of a physical Exhibition featuring over 450 organisations, including global financial institutions, regulators and FinTechs, showcasing the latest innovations and developments in the FinTech space. The Exhibition will feature for the first time an ESG FinTech Zone, curated in partnership with MAS’ Green FinTech Office. It will host ESG FinTechs, financial institutions, and real economy players to showcase solutions that meet key ESG data and disclosure challenges faced by companies.

8. SFF 2022 will have a strong focus on skills and knowledge development. Attendees will be able to earn their Sustainability and Digital Assets & Web3 badges upon completion of a three-day Learning Journey that allows them to experience a variety of activities at SFF. Attendees can also engage in networking and mentoring opportunities as well as Lunch & Learn sessions with industry luminaries across three days of the Festival. Curated specially for attendees and students wishing to explore a career or to upskill in FinTech is the Talent Pavilion featuring career fairs, expert talks, and learning courses. 

9. Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of MAS and Chairman of Elevandi Board, said, “The industry is on the cusp of moving into three areas – Web3, digital assets, and an ESG-focused economy. We have designed SFF to reflect this shift in an open, engaging and bold way, focusing on finding solutions to today’s challenges and taking definitive steps toward implementation across the financial sector. Hence, the content of SFF has shifted to the impact makers who will inspire the community to come together and drive real change.”

10. Jean-François Quentin, Group Chief Executive Officer of Constellar, said, “There is no replacement for the physical event experience in unlocking the potential of impactful partnerships. The large international profile of new and returning exhibitors reflects a hunger for the global SFF community to connect face-to-face again after two years. We are leveraging this demand at SFF by providing a robust, digitally-enabled platform for buyers, sellers and trade visitors to generate opportunities through knowledge sharing, targeted business matchmaking and expanded networking opportunities.”

11. SFF 2022 is organised by MAS and Elevandi, in partnership with Constellar and in collaboration with The Association of Banks in Singapore. Since its inception in 2016, SFF has become the premier platform for the global FinTech community to engage, connect, and collaborate on issues relating to the development of financial services, public policy, and technology. 

About the Singapore FinTech Festival 

The Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) is organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Elevandi, in partnership with Constellar and in collaboration with The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS). Since its inception in 2016, SFF has become the premier platform for the global FinTech community to engage, connect, and collaborate on issues relating to the confluence of financial services, public policy, and technology. Last year, SFF featured global leaders such as Ben Horowitz, Co-Founder and General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz; Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered Bank; Christopher Young, Executive Vice President Business Development, Strategy and Ventures, Microsoft; François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor, Banque de France; Marc Benioff, Chair, Co-CEO, and Co-Founder, Salesforce; and Dr Marian Croak, Vice President of Engineering, Google. Last year’s edition brought together 60,000 participants from over 160 countries. MAS, Elevandi, Constellar and ABS are proud to jointly deliver this year’s SFF.

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 Elevandi 

Elevandi is set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to foster an open dialogue between the public and private sectors to advance FinTech in the digital economy. We work closely with governments, founders, investors, and corporate leaders to drive collaboration, education, and new sources of value at the industry and national levels. Our initiatives have convened over 300,000 people to drive the growth of FinTech through events, closed-door roundtables, investor programmes, educational initiatives, and research. Our flagship product is the Singapore FinTech Festival alongside fast-rising platforms, including the World FinTech Festival and Point Zero Forum.

About Constellar 

Constellar connects a global eco-system of event partners and consumers through a holistic portfolio of intellectual property (IP) in the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) industry. As Asia’s partner of reference for curating the innovative event and venue experiences, Constellar activates impactful networks to bring global markets, businesses and consumers together for sustainable growth. With our expertise and dedication, we are invested in helping you build trusted relationships with stakeholders for the long term and enabling cross-industry collaboration through world-class audience engagement solutions. 

About The Association of Banks in Singapore 

ABS is a non-profit organisation that represents the interests of the banking community in Singapore. In doing so, ABS works closely with the relevant government authorities towards the development of a sound financial system in Singapore. Since its establishment in 1973, ABS has promoted a unifying voice on banking issues. It has brought its members closer together through various guidelines and banking practices as well as the support of projects of mutual benefit to face the challenges of the financial and banking community in Singapore. Today ABS has a membership of 155 local and foreign banks.

Photo by Andreas M on Unsplash

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