Under the Innovation Acceleration track, MAS will conduct open calls for the use of innovative technologies in industry use cases. — Reuters
SINGAPORE: The financial sector of Singapore will receive a boost to its technology and innovation efforts with support from a renewed scheme that will inject up to S$150mil (US$111mil) in grants for projects.
The Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) Scheme, which the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Monday had been renewed for three years, is aimed at accelerating and strengthening innovation by supporting projects that involve the use of cutting-edge technologies.
It is also a reflection of the MAS’ commitment to promoting a vibrant technology ecosystem for the financial sector.
The scheme, in place from August 2023 to March 2026, will help fund several projects.
Among these are three new tracks aimed at promoting a strong culture of innovation and more experimentation, as well as the adoption of environmental, social and governance (ESG) technology and financial technology (fintech) solutions.
The Enhanced Centre of Excellence track, formerly known as the Innovation Labs track, will see its scope of grant funding expanded to include corporate venture capital (CVC) entities, with funding support of up to 50% of qualifying expenses capped at S$2mil per project.
This will allow CVCs to identify and nurture the next generation of start-ups. The funding will enable CVCs to offer strong mentorship and support to help start-ups scale and develop resilient and viable business models.
Previously, the Innovation Labs track provided support to financial institutions, including firms and banks such as DBS Bank and Deloitte, to set up innovation labs.
Under the Innovation Acceleration track, MAS will conduct open calls for the use of innovative technologies in industry use cases.
Grant funding will be provided to support actual trials and commercialisation.
MAS said it “recognises the importance of partnering with the industry to support innovative fintech solutions arising from emerging technologies such as Web 3.0”.
To spur adoption of ESG fintech solutions, the ESG FinTech track seeks to support the development and deployment of projects that address the ESG data, reporting and analytics needs of the financial sector.
ESG usually refers to a framework used to assess an organisation’s business practices and performance on various sustainability and ethical issues.
The scheme will also continue to support advanced capability development and adoption in key areas such as artificial intelligence and data analytics (Aida) and regulation technology (RegTech).
MAS said: “Specifically, MAS will focus on promoting Aida adoption in smaller financial firms and supporting the needs of less digitally mature firms looking to acquire RegTech solutions.
“Across tracks, applicants will be required to devote resources to talent development in order to strengthen the Singapore fintech talent pool.”
The new wave of funding is timely, as the global and Singapore fintech markets appear to have suffered in the first half of 2023. — The Straits Times/ANN
