SFF X SWITCH to kick off on Monday with a focus on sustainability

THE Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) x the Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SWITCH), running from Nov 11-15, will feature more than 400 speakers, over 900 exhibitors, 41 international pavilions, and about 60,000 participants from 130 countries.

This was announced jointly on Sunday by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Enterprise Singapore and National Research Foundation.

Sustainability and climate change is the overarching theme of the combined conference this year, given the growing calls for the technology and financial sectors to be enablers and change agents for sustainability. This theme is reflected in the content of the conference, the design of the event space at the Singapore Expo and through the provision of food from sustainable sources.

The inaugural combined SFF x SWITCH will feature innovative technologies across five key sectors - fintech; urban solutions and sustainability; health and biomedical sciences; advanced manufacturing and engineering; and services and digital services - to catalyse cross-industry exchange and learning in technology adoption, the application of research and development (R&D), and the commercialisation of new solutions.

The event will kick off with the three-day SFF x SWITCH Conference (Nov 11-13) at the Singapore Expo. The conference comprises nine stages including sustainability, finance and tech.

Among the speakers at the conference are Queen Maxima of the Netherlands; Agustin Carstens, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements; and Pavan Sukhdev, president of World Wildlife Fund International. Also speaking at the event will be Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat; and Education Minister and MAS board member Ong Ye Kung.

Debuting this year is the Sustainability, Finance and Tech Summit (Nov 11-13), featuring over 50 speakers who will discuss how they are paving the way for a more sustainable future in the world of finance and beyond.

Alongside the conference is the combined SFF x SWITCH Exhibition curated by SingEx, which showcases innovative solutions in fintech and deep tech from around the world. The 41 international pavilions will display solutions from their respective countries or regions. Visitors can also interact with 20 international financial regulators at the Regulators Zone to learn more about business opportunities and regulations in those countries.

Three competitions for the global innovation community will reach their respective conclusions at SFF x SWITCH: the Global FinTech Hackcelerator Demo Day, FinTech Awards and SLINGSHOT 2019.

Investors and companies can look forward to deal-making opportunities at SFF x SWITCH through daily mixers on Nov 11 and 12 taking place at the Innovation SG booth; and technology-industry matching event TechInnovation (Nov 11-13).

The Innovation Lab Crawl (Nov 14-15) will feature research facilities and in-house laboratories islandwide from 53 partners in the areas of fintech, advanced manufacturing and engineering, urban solutions and sustainability, health and biomedical sciences and services and digital economy. Those keen may sign up at http://fintechfestival.sg/innovation-lab-crawl to see where new product and solutions are tested, learn about how these labs leverage the latest technologies and network with start-ups and key innovation executives.

SFF is organised by MAS, in partnership with The Association of Banks in Singapore, and in collaboration with SingEx Holdings. SWITCH is organised by Enterprise Singapore, NRF and Intellectual Property Intermediary (IPI) in partnership with SingEx. IPI is an affiliate of Enterprise Singapore.

Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer of MAS, said: "Each year, in running the Singapore FinTech Festival, we strive towards achieving our vision of making it a global platform for knowledge sharing. This year, our partnership with SWITCH has given us that opportunity to draw a larger technology-focused audience beyond the financial services sector. It has helped propel SFF x SWITCH into a platform for the world to share thought leadership, make meaningful connections and to build better ideas that will benefit our community."

Edwin Chow, assistant chief executive officer (Innovation & Enterprise) at Enterprise Singapore, said: "With SFF x SWITCH as one event, we will bring together international tech communities, startups, investors, corporates and other enablers to network, share ideas and discuss collaborations. More than 40 international pavilions will present the latest innovative solutions and technology spanning across diverse sectors and disciplines. SFF x SWITCH presents opportunities for participants to start solving economic and industry challenges through innovation and entrepreneurship."

Cheong Wei Yang, deputy chief executive officer, NRF, said: "SFF x SWITCH brings out the best of both the Singapore FinTech Festival and the Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology. It is symbolic of Singapore's national effort to integrate research, innovation and enterprise as an iterative, interactive ecosystem - so that each one will spur the others to greater heights, with the aim of improving lives in Singapore and globally. It will ensure that deep technologies born out of basic science research in Singapore will see impact via the right economic structures and business models, enabled by innovative financing modalities and payment systems."