(L-R) Mr. Samuel Tsien, Group CEO, CBC Bank; Mr. Piyush Gupta, CEO, DBS Group; Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information;Mr. Tan Kiat How, CEO, IMDA; Mr.Wee Ee Cheong, CEO, UOB
During the ongoing Smart Nation Innovations Week, the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore signed individual Memorandum of Intents (MOIs) with three leading local banks, United Overseas Bank (UOB), Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) to provide accredited companies with increased access to innovative projects in the banking sector.
This accreditation is done through Accreditation@IMDA (A@IMDA). It is an initiative launched in 2014 to provide promising Singapore-based tech product companies with resources and investment to help them build a track record locally, grow and compete on the global market. To date, 17 companies have been accredited. Accredited companies have raised S$28.9 million of new capital from reputable VCs or strategic investors during or after being accredited.
All three of the banks, DBS, OCBC Bank and UOB have been actively creating and supporting innovative FinTech solutions through their individual accelerator programmes. They have also been test-bedding and deploying solutions within their organisation.
As part of this MOI, the accredited companies will get the opportunity to regularly pitch their innovative technology solutions to the relevant user departments in the three banks. The banks will facilitate the accredited companies’ expansion internationally through the banks’ global footprint, upon successful deployment of their products locally.
The banks in turn will gain access to innovative high-growth Infocomm Media (ICM) companies specialising in IoT, analytics and Artificial Intelligence, and Cybersecurity.
Through its FinTech Foundry programme, DBS will share its problem statements with relevant IMDA-accredited companies. Shortlisted companies will be invited to participate in Proof-of-Concepts to develop suitable solutions.
IMDA-accredited companies will also be provided opportunities to pitch and showcase their products to various DBS user groups. DBS will conduct procurement clinics to share general procurement best practices with IMDA-accredited companies, such as a proper process to respond to DBS’s Request-For-Proposal, and Request-For-Information to enable the companies to better manage their procurement engagement cycles.
OCBC Bank launched The Open Vault at OCBC in 2016 to collaborate with FinTech companies and connect with the Fintech eco-system. A@IMDA will complement OCBC Bank’s mentoring efforts to FinTech companies participating in The Open Vault at the OCBC FinTech Accelerator Programme.
Similar to the FinTech foundry at DBS and the Open Vault at OCBC Bank, UOB has been working to develop FinTech startups through its accelerator programme at the FinLab, a joint venture between UOB and SGInnovate. Relevant IMDA-accredited companies will be invited to participate in Proof-of-Concepts to develop relevant FinTech solutions for UOB. They will also be provided opportunities to access funding through UOB’s affiliates and partners such as equity crowdfunding platform, OurCrowd and venture lending firm, InnoVen Capital.