Organisation:

Fintech News Singapore

Resource Link:

Published in 2021, Link

My Key Takeaways

Sometimes, the co-innovation partner to help your EU/UK Fintech or Insurtech to enter Southeast Asia (SEA) and Singapore (SG) might not necessarily originate from Asia. 🤔

87% of financial services firms in 2019 either have an innovation lab or have at least carved out some real estate for innovations [Frost & Sullivan].

This is especially true for global and dynamic Fintech hubs like Singapore, where the financial services sector grew ~6% in 1H 2021.

Beyond the business unit heads who are busy “fighting fires” and worrying about bottom lines, the teams at these innovation labs are often more open to new technologies and business models.

These teams are also often the ones who run open innovation calls, and their KPIs encourage them to explore collaborations with new partners, big and small.

So don’t forget about financial firms from Europe and the US that have also set up Asian innovation labs to cover the region.

Sharing an article by Fintech News Singapore on 10 notable fintech and insurtech innovation labs in Singapore:

1) PayPal (established in 2016, their first outside of the US)

2) Visa (established in 2016, the company’s first in APAC)

3) DBS (largest bank in SG and SEA)

4) BNY Mellon (New York-based investment banking services provider)

5) ING Labs (The Dutch financial services co’s SG lab focuses on #tradetech and #tradefinancing)

6) IAG Firemark Labs (set up by Australian insurance film IAG, the lab co-creates with partners new products and services for APAC)

7) KPMG Digital Village (the SG lab focuses on fintech, healthtech, and logistics)

8) UOB Finlab (established in 2015, the lab serves SMEs in SG, Malaysia and Thailand)

9) Contour’s Future of Finance Lab (the trade finance network’s SG lab focuses on B2B trade finance innovations)

10) Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub (joined forces with SG’s central bank, Monetary Authority of Singapore)

Can consider adding the above to your checklist for your SEA market entry plans!

My LinkedIn post here.

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About Zhilin SIM

Having worked and lived in Singapore, the Nordics, China, Spain, UK, I’m now based in Paris.

I’m fluent in English, French and Mandarin, and I’m learning Arabic because it’s a beautiful and fascinating language.

My team creates and supports one-many initiatives connecting Corporate and Startup ecosystems in Europe to business and innovation opportunities in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

I’m passionate about horticulture, watercolour, startups/tech as well as French cuisine, Peranakan kueh techniques and other global cuisines.

Feel free to connect with me if you think my network in Europe and Asia could be of benefit to your business and innovation activities.