By Avelyn Ng
FinTech is all the rage but do people know enough of the technologies that underpin it? While there is a steady stream of people using mobile payments, peer-to-peer money lending and so on, there are not many Singaporeans who possess the skillsets in the related technologies. These include blockchain, application programming interface, big data, artificial intelligence, cloud-computing and
cybersecurity.
That is one gap that President of Singapore Fintech Association (SFA) Chia Hock Lai has identified and is looking to fix.
“The outlook for FinTech is positive, as strong interest from investors continue and more financial institutions turn to digitalisation to increase productivity. Singapore also provides a progressive environment for innovations. There is a lot of potential, not just for start-ups but also for professionals to work in the sector,” he said.
SFA recently held a recruitment drive in February 2017 and grew its corporate membership to 105.
Outreach and Education
Since SFA joined as a U Associate, it has been working closely with NTUC to spread awareness about FinTech. For instance, they co-organised a workshop on blockchain application in capital markets during U Startup Day on 30 March 2017. Currently, SFA is in talks with NTUC and e2i to develop a FinTech Professional Conversion Programme and Young FinTech Leadership Programme to nurture more talents.
It has also co-developed a design thinking workshop with Singapore Polytechnic and will be exploring more continuing education and training programmes with them.
New Online Platforms
On the Association front, it is building an ‘externship’ portal that is expected to be launched in about a month’s time.
“Training alone is not sufficient. We want to attach aspiring students and PMEs [professionals, managers and engineers] to mentors from their selected expertise. By spending a few days with them at their workplaces, participants can experience what the job is like and decide if it is for them,” explained Hock Lai.
SFA has recruited 60 volunteers from its membership base to join as mentors. The portal will also list FinTech jobs and internship offers locally and overseas.
By June, the public can look forward to a new e-learning portal where they can read up on bite-sized topics for free. Contributed by SFA’s members who are practitioners in the industry, the portal aims to introduce the layman to different aspects of FinTech.
Connectivity to Markets
Hock Lai also underscored the open nature of FinTech that offers abundant cross-border collaboration and internationalisation opportunities. SFA has been working hard to provide members with the resources and channels to gain exposure abroad.
In collaboration with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, SFA’s FinTech startups got the chance to attend a FinTech festival in India and set up booths at a financial event in Indonesia recently.
With the help of International Enterprise Singapore, SFA endeavours to organise more subsidised overseas trip missions in the second half of 2017.
Additionally, SFA has initiated discussions on how Singapore Business Federation (SBF) can encourage its members to adopt FinTech solutions from SFA’s members. If successful, the partnership may also leverage on the existing international platforms set up by SBF to pave the way for members to expand overseas.
Insider’s Guide
Established: October 2016
Became an NTUC U Associate in: March 2017
Did You Know: SFA is the biggest FinTech Association in ASEAN with 105 corporate members. The Association of FinTech Indonesia is the next closest, with 95 corporate members. For more information, visit www.singaporefintech.org.
Source: NTUC This Week
