The Power of One, or why I decided to run for the Singapore Fintech Association ExCo

I moved to Singapore in late 2014. I was looking for new challenges and ways to expand my horizons, and after lots of exploration and some trips to the world’s business hubs, I thought that Singapore was the place I would like to call home. And I never regretted that decision. I moved in and joined Singapore’s vibrant Fintech community. 

Through these 6 years of being part of the Singapore Fintech ecosystem with Visa, Grab and Rapyd, I saw things that I didn’t see in other places: 

1. Inclusivity and Diversity: our community consists of passionate people of all cultural backgrounds. We often take it for granted but this diversity of thoughts, skill sets and ways of thinking is the reason why Singapore makes it easy for the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs to come up with new ideas, seek feedback, test them, and then get them implemented.
2. Creativity and Vision: because of the global exposure and a neverending quest for growth, Singapore’s business and government (!) leaders strive to see beyond the horizons and show us examples of great vision. Entrepreneurs and industry leaders are looking to challenge the status quo, create value and improve the customer experience, and constantly look for better and more efficient ways to get to their goals.
3. Global Leadership: I also saw some world-class Fintech companies founded here, as well as global VCs, from Softbank to Vertex and Sequoia, establishing their offices and investing millions in the country and region’s growth. Last but very much not the least is seeing progressive regulators working open-mindedly with the Fintech community, exploring new technologies and use cases, opening up new opportunities and laying the foundation for the Cashless Nation. 

But I believe that more can be done by the Fintech Community here to further enhance international reputation of Singapore and strengthen its role on the Global Fintech arena: 

And after being involved into Singapore’s Fintech activities as a participant, co-host, brand builder, and supporter, now I feel that the time has come for me to play a more active role as a collaborator, and to try to find more ways to improve connections within this community. I would like to see if I could apply my past experiences to create better Communication and Collaboration within the ecosystem and also establish connections with other global collaborators, influencers, and practitioners, creating opportunities for growth. 

That’s why I decided to nominate myself for the Singapore Fintech Association Executive Committee role.

I spent some time with a few other nominees and together, we found a common mission that we all feel connected to: 

Continue growing SFA’s role as a center of Singapore’s fintech ecosystem to foster collaboration, innovation and partnerships among the members and industry at-large, with the goal of strengthening Singapore’s position as a global fintech hub. 

If elected, I will collaborate with the rest of the ExCo, and members of SFA across the following pillars:

1. Be the voice for Singapore fintech: we will strive to create an inclusive discussion platform to exchange opinions, network, and gather feedback from members of the community on the initiatives driven by MAS, corporates, investors, other industry bodies and innovators.
2. Foster business growth: we will improve access to market benchmarks, data and industry reports, will build and share growth case studies and toolkits, creating avenues to access new markets and improve business growth.
3. Simplify access to capital: we will promote and facilitate grants management and distribution, engage with global, regional and Singapore-based VCs to open up funding possibilities.
4. Promote transparency and responsible behaviour: we will encourage business integrity, sustainable business growth and innovation, and support Green and Sustainability initiatives.
5. Grow fintech talent pool and facilitate access to opportunities: we will support fintech education programs and initiatives with global and local educational institutions, rethink the fintech jobs portal.
6. Drive operational efficiency for members: we will negotiate and provide access to preferential rates for cloud-based solutions, real-estate deals, employee care packages (insurance and medical services) etc.

In addition to that, I’d like to take on a few personal commitments:

• First of all, I would also like to improve SFA's communication with its members and the community at large. That includes better communicating of the value that SFA brings, but most importantly, that means that SFA should create ways to drive inclusive communication for all employees of the member organisations, delivering meaningful insights, details of the events, information on partnerships and activities it runs.
• I would also like to review SFA’s strategic partnerships (MOUs) with local and foreign associations, as well as international trade missions. I would like to see a reactivation of selective, most meaningful collaborations and discussions, and establish a constant flow of events, information, and insights sharing between the global Fintech Hubs, supporting Singapore’s representation in the local, regional, and global industry discussions. 
• FInally, as a startup and innovation enthusiast and practitioner, I would like to see myself deeply involved in the local startup community initiatives and events, promoting growth strategies and best practices, celebrating local heroes and entrepreneurs, facilitating co-creations and workshops, and enabling dialogue between different stakeholders. I would also like to see SFA creating support systems for the SFA members, such as resource libraries, educational assets, mentorship programs, and access to trainings on Growth, Fundraising, Marketing and Organisational Development.

If you’re not an SFA Member, I would encourage you to explore information about membership options and benefits available to its members. 

If you already are an SFA Member, please take time to review the profiles of the nominees and help us form the SFA that will be vocal, responsive and connected to the Fintech ecosystem in the next two years at this link: https://singaporefintech.org/sfa-election-2021-nominees/

Critical dates and actions for voting members:

1. Register for voting at this link before 11am on Wednesday, 24th March
2. Vote: 11am-6pm on Thursday, 25th March