SFF x SWITCH 2020 to Feature 40 Global Satellite Events and 24-Hour Online Experience

Singapore - The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) announced today that more than 40 global satellite events will take place across the world as part of the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) x Singapore Week of Innovation & TeCHnology (SWITCH) 2020. To be held from 7 to 11 December, SFF x SWITCH 2020 will feature a unique hybrid format that combines a 24-hour online event platform with global satellite events around the world. This new hybrid model will provide participants with greater access to the global FinTech and deep tech communities who are looking to discover partnerships, draw investments, and boost sales cycles. SFF x SWITCH has worked with a network of global partners to host the global satellite events (refer to Annex A). They comprise physical events in selected cities in accordance with local safe distancing measures as well as digital-only events. They will bring together content from innovation hubs and tech showcases around the world, and provide in-person attendees access to networking opportunities with industry leaders and sponsors. In collaboration with MAS and ESG, SingEx Group will manage the physical and digital experiences for attendees and ensure a seamless execution of the FinTech and innovation showcases across the cities. SFF x SWITCH will feature a 24-hour online experience over five days. This online event platform will feature a digital city, supported by partners including Accenture, Microsoft and Pico Art International. The digital city will feature more than 800 speakers from around the world, including leaders in finance and technology, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and officials from multilateral agencies. Participants can access live content broadcasts running round-the-clock and on-demand sessions. Some of the confirmed speakers include:

SFF

• Dr Abhijit Banerjee, 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics, Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
• Guo Shuqing, Chairman, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission
• Hong Feng, Co-Founder and Senior Vice President, Xiaomi
• Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO, Thrive Global, Founder, Huffington Post
• Sallie Krawcheck, Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Ellevest
• Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft
• Nandan Nilekani, Co-Founder and Chairman, Infosys
• Henry M. Paulson, Jr, Founder and Chairman, Paulson Institute
• Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer, Google and Alphabet
• Dr Raghuram Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, University of Chicago’s Booth School
• Eric Yuan, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Zoom

SWITCH

• Albert, Co-Founder, Traveloka
• Dr Chi Youngcho, President and CIO, Hyundai Motor Group
• Timothy Draper, Founding Partner, Draper Associates
• Arvinder Gujral, Managing Director SE Asia and Senior Director Business Development - APAC, China, Australia, Twitter
• Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise
• Lei Ming, Co-Founder, Baidu; Former CEO and Founder, Kuwo Science and Technology; Founding Partner, AIBasis Ventures
• Henry Ma, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, WeBank
• Candice Ong, Chief Commercial Officer, ShopBack
• Lars Reger, Group Chief Technology Officer, NXP Semiconductor Germany GmbH
• Professor Sir Adrian Smith FRS, Institute Director and Chief Executive, The Alan Turing Institute
• Professor H.S. Philip Wong, Willard R. and Inez Kerr Bell Professor in the School of Engineering, Stanford University
• Ye Gang, Group Chief Operating Officer, Sea Ltd

The SFF Global-Common Channel will feature five global summits on the themes of: economics, infrastructure, impact, investor, and talent. They will focus on driving cross-border commercial activity to support pandemic recovery, and how financial institutions should position themselves in 2021. The SWITCH Global Channel, curated by SWITCH’s global innovation partners (refer to Annex B), allows participants access to market knowledge, opportunities, insights and tips on business culture from over 42 cities in 31 countries across Africa, Asia (China, India and Southeast Asia), Europe, Middle East, North America and Northeast Asia & Oceania.  A digital map will show all SFF x SWITCH activities across Singapore, with dedicated zones for various activities, including an international zone, early stage and growth stage FinTech zones, talent zone, technology showcase zones, and a networking zone. Participants will be able to visit locations on the map via a searchable and interactive directory of organisations and activities, tailored to their interests and profiles. Participants can meet and network with attendees on the event platform and schedule 1-on-1 meetings, by leveraging on the platform’s business matching functionality. Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS, said, “The global pandemic has led to a reimagination of how we can deliver SFF x SWITCH as a global platform. To recreate the connectivity, collaboration and networking that have become the hallmarks of SFF x SWITCH, this year’s unique hybrid format will break new ground to create a truly global and inclusive event for the FinTech community. We are delighted to work with key global partners to deliver over 40 global satellite events for attendees across the globe, and Microsoft and Accenture to design this first-of-its-kind global platform for the FinTech community to innovate and forge new connections, anchored on the delivery of a powerful, new digital experience at scale.” Edwin Chow, Assistant Chief Executive Officer (Innovation & Enterprise), Enterprise Singapore, said, “While SFF x SWITCH is being run in a new, unprecedented way, our aim to enable networking and collaboration has not changed. In fact, we are very pleased to see that SWITCH has attracted even more global innovation partners this time, with established names such as 500 Startups, Sunway Group and VinaCapital joining us at various thematic panel discussions. This digital format not only enables the deep tech and innovation community to access deep market knowledge; it allows us to connect across geographies and time zones at a much faster pace, making this event a truly global one.” “Together with our partners we’ve designed the entire customer journey identifying critical touchpoints for optimal experiential engagements, paving the way for a bold new format that’s driven by customer insights. We’re proud to be the nerve centre for SFF x SWITCH orchestrating the global event experience across the satellite cities, online and offline, through our hybrid events studio in Singapore as well as robust capabilities in content, digital and operational excellence. We look forward to showing the world a new standard of audience engagement made possible with our established network of community partners from around the world”, said Aloysius Arlando, Chief Executive Officer, SingEx.