Green Shoots

In partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore

22 May 2023

This Green Shoots session discussed the current talent shortage in the AIDA (Artificial Intelligence & Data Analytics) field within the financial sector, and proposed a roadmap for addressing challenges faced by FIs in training, attracting, and recruiting AIDA talent.

The session shared insights on:

• Strategies, tools, and technologies aimed at improving talent acquisition processes in financial institutions.
• How AI will transform the job landscape and how students and mid-career professionals can leverage emerging trends and opportunities.
• Objectives of the AIDA Talent Development Programme

In partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, powered by Google Cloud

29 March 2023

The Green Shoots session on 29 March 2023 brought together over 100 business and industry leaders, to discuss industry trends and transitions, as well as technology innovation that will deliver sustainable business impact and resiliency towards a greener future. The session explored and unpacked insights on:

• The climate challenge today, and the need for collective action from public-private partnerships with speed and scale
• Trends and driving forces that will drive further growth in the carbon markets space in 2023 and beyond
• Scaling Innovation: Mobilising Capital, Accelerating Adoption and Artificial Intelligence
• How Singapore homegrown ESG tech startups are breaking new ground and successfully advancing climate impact

In partnership with Prudential

10 October 2022

In this high-level session we explored the following topics:

• Key findings from the Digital for 100 Report: Harnessing technology for longer lifespans
• How FinTech and microPensions can aid healthy ageing
• Healthtech, wealthtech and insurtech trends, innovations and outlook 
• How do FinTech and Healthtech contribute to improving the health performance in Singapore?
• The microPensions opportunity – examining the role of and demand for microPensions to build financially secure retirements
• How can technology be used to make small-ticket pensions and insurance secure, affordable and inclusive for old age populations?
• How can digital tools be used to prepare for the future, especially on the wealth front?

In partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore

29 August 2022

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has been promoting Singapore as a hub for crypto innovation and digital asset use cases. Yet, it has been warning against retail investments in cryptocurrencies and taking measures to restrict retail access. Some observers find this confusing.

• Where exactly does MAS stand and what does Singapore want to be in the crypto world?
• Why does MAS say it welcomes innovation but makes it difficult to obtain a licence?
• Will MAS tighten regulation in light of the recent failure of crypto firms?
  

This special Green Shoots seminar  addressed these and other questions related to MAS’ strategies to develop Singapore as a digital asset hub.

The discussions addressed:

• MAS’ position on cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, blockchain, tokenisation, digital assets, etc., including risks and opportunities; shortcomings and potential.
• MAS’ developmental and regulatory approaches towards making Singapore an innovative and responsible digital asset hub.

In partnership with Ant Group

18 August 2022

As cross-border payments have increased in the past years, financial institutions and companies must improve their systems to keep track of customers’ needs.

This in-person Green Shoots series event discussed the need for digitally-inclusive, sustainable solutions to remain competitive in the field.

The panel explored:

• Why interoperability is important and its relevance to financial inclusion
• Requirements from a user perspective - use cases and pain points
• Existing initiatives and the need for an alternative form of connectivity
• Role of Public vs Private Sector in Global Connectivity Technical, scheme and regulatory challenges to be solved

In collaboration with Proxtera, and supported by Ant Group and Visa

14 June 2022

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is working with International Finance Corporation (IFC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and Global FinTech Institute (GFI) on a new global SME financial knowledge and action programme called SME Financial Empowerment (SFE).

SFE is a structured digital financial knowledge programme to educate MSMEs and SMEs to be updated with current financial literacy, financial options and digital economy skillsets. The SFE comprises Masterclasses and practitioner sharing sessions, with the content will be launched in June 2022 across ASEAN, South Asia, India and Africa. In addition to the education programme, MAS is working with the critical financial sector players to provide follow-up resources for these SMEs to utilize. SFE offers essential digital and financial services knowledge to upskill SMEs, enabling these businesses to be digitally agile and leverage financing and non-financing tools (including networks) to connect and grow into new markets.

This session highlighted the importance for businesses, especially SMEs, in global connectivity in the increasingly globalised but fragmented world to have updated financial literacy. 

In partnership with the BIS Innovation Hub (Singapore Centre)

22 April 2022

In this special Green Shoots session, we learned how countries are catalysing the Web3 movement through two inaugural cross-border collaborations.

Project Dunbar: A Foundation for Future Global Platforms Using Multi-CBDCs 
Central banks are exploring how CBDCs issued on a common platform can be used across borders for faster, cheaper and safer payments. This is the most efficient model for payments connectivity but is also the most challenging to achieve.

Project Dunbar is one of the first to successfully resolve the key challenges and build prototypes to prove the technical viability of the concept. In this session:

• Hear from participating central banks in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa on how they have resolved challenges around governance, access policies and regulatory differences across jurisdictions.
• Learn about how the technical prototypes developed pave the way for future regional and global payments platforms, and the wide-ranging implications beyond payments.

Point Zero Forum

• How will Web3 change financial services
• What is the impact on business models
• What are the current and future regulatory frameworks required?
  
  

The organisers of the Singapore FinTech Festival introduced Point Zero Forum, the inaugural invite-only event that took place in Zurich, 21-23 June 2022.

In this session participants found out what they can expect from this unique collaboration between Elevandi, MAS, SIF, BIS IH, Finance. Swiss, Switzerland Global Enterprise, Swiss National Bank and the Swiss Banking Association

The first Green Shoots Series of 2022 kicked off with experts in exits.

24 March 2022

Show me the money: FinTech funding 2022

• Funding landscape analysis 2021
• Fundraising so far in 2022
• Forecasting for 2022
  

 Building a thriving early stage startup community

• Solving the early stage startup conundrum has been a challenge around the world. Hear from the early stage perspective, from a serial entrepreneur, and early stage investors perspective on what's needed in 2022 to support the next generation of startups 
  

The curious case of SPACS: everything you need to know

• Primer - the world of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
• What’s changed in 2022?

How to go public in Asia: the founder's Holy Grail

• How do SPACs fit into the broader marketplace
• Advantages and disadvantages of listing on; NASDAQ, locally or SPAC
• What makes the next wave of SPACs different?
• How can SPACs create real value?