The next global lift for SFF

Singapore

THE Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF)’s sixth edition coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

The timing offers a backdrop for the theme of SFF this year, which is Web 3.0. The festival is looking at how Web 3.0 will impact financial services. As MAS chief fintech officer Sopnendu Mohanty puts it, Web 3.0 “represents one of the biggest paradigm shifts in the world today”.

“Ultimately, Web 3.0 will shape new business models, enterprises, careers and the new digital economy.”

Elevandi – which means to lift up or raise up – is a non-profit organisation set up by the MAS with the mission to foster an open dialogue between the public and private sectors to harness fintech for growth and development in the new digital economy.

As the umbrella company, Elevandi now runs SFF, as well as other events such as the World FinTech Festival, Oxygen by Apix, Deal Fridays and the Green Shoots Series. 

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It will align these brands with a host of new brands that include Elevandi Insights reports and Elevandi Forums in regions around the world to create a “truly global stream of synthesised knowledge for the community”, said Pat Patel, Elevandi’s general manager.

“Elevandi was born from the Singapore FinTech Festival with the aim to foster an open dialogue between the public and private sectors to harness fintech for growth and development in the new digital economy. “It will achieve this through the development of a global knowledge and collaboration platform to drive business activity,” he said.

“In a world fragmented by geopolitical trends, economic uncertainty and the fallout from the pandemic, the need for people to come together physically and digitally has never been greater. 

Within financial services the need for knowledge, insight and connections is an imperative to drive new opportunities or upskill and reskill large parts of the workforce.”

Mohanty, who is also chairman of Elevandi, said its mission is to engage the foremost technologists, policymakers, business leaders, and other influencers of society to shape global, regional, and industry capabilities by generating high-quality knowledge flow between all stakeholders. 

He said the core principles behind its efforts to drive global capacity progress will be: always inclusive; make access to knowledge flow affordable; globally collaborative; nurture ideas and diverse views; build a trusted network of influencers; and focus on addressing real economic challenges

To stay ahead of the curve, SFF has launched an inclusive global knowledge initiative that enables participants to acquire a Web 3.0 Knowledge Certificate in Financial Services by completing three modules matching to the themes of the three-day conference. 

“The learning approach taken at SFF2021 allows attendees to learn from leading experts in the world, and adds to a global movement for talent development and upskilling the industry,” said Mohanty.

In 2019, a partnership with the Central Bank of Kenya was formed for the Afro-Asia Festival. With the pandemic, plans had to be shelved for a follow-up event and new chapters across Latin America and Europe. 

“We will be looking to make up for lost time... we will now be looking to execute our plans in 2022 and generate a global stream for the cross-regional communities,” said Patel.

Elevandi has appointed an international board of directors to oversee its strategic expansion. Patel said the directors will bring diverse perspectives and insights on innovations driving the financial sector. Those nominated to sit on the board are:

• Jo Ann Barefoot, CEO and cofounder at Alliance for Innovative Regulation and Cofounder at Hummingbird Regtech. Jo Ann is a globally well-regarded policymaker with over 35 years of experience and was the first woman Deputy Comptroller of the Currency (OCC); she established the original consumer protection regulatory unit for US national banks. Jo Ann is based in the US.  
• Neil Parekh, Partner and Head of Asia, Australia and New Zealand at Tikehau Capital. Neil is an accomplished Singaporean banker with over 30 years of global experience in financial services including the APAC region, Europe and the US.  
• Pieter Franken, global fintech pioneer and passionate innovator, is based in Japan. Pieter has a career spanning 30 years in financial services, specialising in management, fintech, innovation and large-scale digital transformations.  
• Matthias Kröner, founder and managing director of Tradelite Solutions, is based in Germany. Formerly, Matthias served as founder and CEO of Fidor Bank and DAB Bank; has over 25 years in financial services, with unparalleled insight into corporate strategy, innovation-leadership and M&A through the most transformative period in the history of the banking industry.  
• Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer, MAS. Sopnendu is a well-known Singaporean fintech professional with over 25 years of global experience in the financial sector covering financial services, technology and innovation.

For all our coverage of the Singapore FinTech Festival 2021, go to bt.sg/sff2021.