Singapore Fintech Festival to feature global satellite events from over 40 cities

MORE than 40 global satellite events from around the world will join in as part of the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) x Singapore Week of Innovation & TeCHnology (SFF x SWITCH) 2020, in a first for the annual affair.

To be held from Dec 7-11, SFF x SWITCH 2020 will feature a hybrid format that will combine a 24/7 online event platform with global satellite events from cities ranging from Warsaw to Nairobi to Washington DC.

Even as a significant part of the programme will be digital-only this year, the global satellite events will still comprise some physical events in selected cities, in accordance with local safe distancing measures.

They will bring together content from innovation hubs and tech showcases around the world, and provide in-person attendees access to networking opportunities with industry leaders and sponsors.

Together with organisers the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Enterprise Singapore, SingEx Group will manage the physical and digital experiences for attendees across the cities.

The event, now in its fifth edition, is expected to have the biggest turnout yet, as attendees can tune in from any part of the world.

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The online event platform will have a "digital city" featuring more than 800 speakers including leaders in finance and technology, entrepreneurs, policymakers and officials from multilateral agencies.

Some key speakers include heads of global companies such as Google's CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella, Traveloka's co-founder Albert, and Hyundai's president Chi Youngcho.

Other luminaries include 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics winner Abhijit Banerjee, International Monetary Fund's managing director Kristalina Georgieva, and China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission's chairman Guo Shuqing.

Participants can access live content broadcasts running round-the-clock and on-demand sessions.

Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer, MAS, said that the pandemic had led to a "re-imagination" on how the event can be delivered.

This year's unique hybrid format will "break new ground" to create a truly global and inclusive event for the fintech community, he said.

Edwin Chow, assistant chief executive officer (Innovation & Enterprise), Enterprise Singapore said that the event's aim to enable networking and collaboration has not changed despite Covid-19.

"This digital format not only enables the deep tech and innovation community to access deep market knowledge," he said, "it allows us to connect across geographies and time zones at a much faster pace, making this event a truly global one."

The 2019 edition of the event attracted more than 60,000 participants from almost 140 countries, and featured highlights such as the FinTech Conference, the FinTech Awards, Global FinTech Hackcelerator, Innovation Lab Crawl and Industry Networking and Workshops.