Pacific-ASEAN Financial Innovation Challenge 2019 in Malaysia

Published by sanja

Deadline: 7 April 2019
Open to: all participants from Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore
Benefits: successful participants will receive USD 50,000 start-up capital and USD 30,000 seed funding

Description

Pacific-ASEAN Financial Innovation Challenge is jointly organized by UNCDF Financial Innovation Lab Malaysia and the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme. The Financial Innovation Lab and PFIP are two UNCDF programmes focusing on ASEAN and Pacific markets respectively.

The Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP) is working with financial services providers to create better, cheaper and safer financial services. However, this depends on the availability of suitable fintech innovations. The local fintech community is nascent at best and this often restricts organizers’ partners’ ability to deliver cutting-edge solutions to customers.

The Pacific- ASEAN Financial Innovation Challenge provides a platform for not only Pacific innovators, but also innovators from Malaysia and Singapore, to develop their ideas into practical solutions for UNCDF, PFIP, and their implementing partners. The challenge also provides an opportunity to connect innovators from ASEAN and Pacific countries thereby creating a network of digital innovators in both regions.

The participating innovators will work closely with UNCDF, PFIP, and implementing partners in the Pacific to design, modify and test their solutions to address the specific use-cases put forward by the Challenge. The organizers are looking for practical solutions that address the specific challenges described by their implementing partners. The intention is to drive meaningful partnerships to have innovative solutions tests and scaled such that there a positive impact on end users’ lives. They will consider both front-end back-end solutions as long as participants offer a compelling value to organizers’ implementing partners.

There are 4 (Four) submission category:

  • Challenge 1 – Vodafone Fiji
  • Challenge 2 – National Bank of Vanuatu
  • Challenge 3 – FijiCare in Fiji
  • Challenge 4 – KINA Bank in Papua New Guinea

The details of the following challenges are available on their official website.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants who can apply include:

  • Financial and technology solution providers
  • Must be registered in the Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore
  • Must have exiting or ready to deploy solutions.

Benefits

  • UNCDF PFIP will offer financial and technical assistance to promising innovations to customize, test, and scale their solutions with identified implementing partners. Additionally, the organizers will also offer a tailor-made accelerator program, for up to six months, to fill the market knowledge gaps and help participants leverage the global knowledge network of UNCDF and its partners.
  • Successful participants will receive USD 50,000 start-up capital and USD 30,000 seed funding.
  • They will also get the opportunity to test and scale their solutions with Vodafone Fiji, FijiCare Insurance Ltd, National Bank of Vanuatu, Kina Bank, PNG.
  • Winners will get access to “greenfield’ Market segments.
  • Successful participants will also get the opportunity to scale their solutions in growing economies.

How to apply?

For information on how to apply, please visit this website.