Singapore Fintech Festival 2021 to discuss Web 3.0 for financial uses

It will take place from 8 to 12 November as a hybrid event.

The Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) 2021 will take place from 8 to 12 November as a hybrid digital and physical event with the theme “Web 3.0,” the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced.

Organised in partnership with The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) and in collaboration with Constellar Exhibitions, a subsidiary of Constellar Holdings (formerly known as SingEx-Sphere Holdings), SFF 2021 will provide a combined online-offline platform for the global fintech community to engage and connect whilst discussing how Web 3.0 and key technological advances will power the future of financial services.

The first three days of the SFF will feature a hybrid conference and exhibition; on 11 and 12 November, participants can attend global satellite events and industry events online and at physical locations. 

The conference will examine three key structural drivers that could reshape financial services in the coming decade:

1. Re-configuration of financial products and services delivery through Embedded Finance (#EmFi), decentralised finance (#DeFi), and Digital Currencies; 
2. Integration of ESG into the core design of financial services;
3. Pervasive adoption of foundational digital infrastructure (Digital Identity, Trusted Data  Exchange, Interoperable Payment Systems. and Consent Systems) 

There will be deep-dive sessions that will brainstorm how Web 3.0  technologies can be harnessed for more efficient financial intermediation, advance key objectives like green finance and financial inclusion, and examine implications for financial regulation and supervision, MAS said.

Participants can also look forward to the showcasing of winners of the MAS Global FinTech Hackcelerator, Global CBDC Challenge, a revamped SFF FinTech Awards, and Innovation Lab Crawl.  

The World FinTech Festival will continue to support the development of local fintech ecosystems and drive greater collaboration opportunities across regions. Key partners from Brazil, Cambodia, Hungary, Japan, Nigeria, Poland, the Philippines, and the United States will host their satellite events round-the-clock on 11 and 12 November.

Curated hybrid meetings will be held throughout the festival, with recommended matches, hosted meet-ups and a comprehensive exhibitor directory to drive dedicated matchmaking throughout the event. 

Elevandi
MAS has also unveiled Elevandi--which means to lift up or raise up—a company aimed at fostering an open dialogue between the public and private sectors to harness fintech for growth and development in the new digital economy. 

Elevandi’s activities will continue to be run in partnership with ABS and in collaboration with Constellar Exhibitions.

Sopnendu Mohanty, MAS’ Chief Fintech Officer, will be one of the directors. The rest of the board of directors will reportedly comprise members from the public sector, financial services sector and experienced global industry leaders.

“For the last five years, MAS has grown the SFF into a leading global platform for fintech. It is now time for the SFF to further a global mission,” Mohanty said.

“Singapore has an important role to play as a knowledge centre and as a platform to enable greater collaboration and exchange between the public and private sectors around the world,” he added.

Planned activities include the Green Shoots Series, which are monthly meetups for the global fintech community to discuss critical topics trending in the fintech and the digital economy; Deal Fridays, monthly events between investors and start-ups to drive deal-making opportunities; Oxygen by APIX, an upskilling platform for financial institutions, fintechs, and tech enthusiasts; and the Elevandi Forum roundtables.

They also plan to publish the Elevandi FinTech Insider Report, an annual report that will discuss the digital advancements for the global fintech industry. 

Photo courtesy of Joshua Sortino