SINGAPORE (Nov 12): Even as fintech start-ups struggle to raise capital, investors and financial institutions bemoan the lack of access to information that can help them source companies that could be investment opportunities.
To this end, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Deloitte and S&P Global Market Intelligence have come together to help solve the conundrum.
The parties have collaborated to develop a prototype for an industry-wide fintech research platform to help investors and financial institutions connect with fintech start-ups that they can partner with or invest in.
The digital platform is designed to help increase transparency by providing a comprehensive view of fintech companies, including their attributes on business models, use cases, funding, and technology stack.
The transparency of this aggregated third-party and self-reported data, which will clearly show the source of each data point, is expected to enhance investors’ confidence in these fintech companies.
The platform will also accelerate decision-making by allowing users to compare fintech companies easily on one platform. At the same time, it will prioritise the fintech firms that investors can potentially work with, based on parameters that matter most to the users.
“We believe that the deployment of capital in start-ups, particularly those offering business-to-business solutions, can be vastly improved by enhancing transparency and increasing the confidence in data on early-stage companies,” says Sopnendu Mohanty, MAS’ Chief Fintech Officer.
According to internal analysis by Deloitte, investors and financial institutions currently do not have access to reliable and up-to-date company information of fintech start-ups.
As such, these investors have to rely on informal networks to source investment opportunities, which limits their view of all the companies in which they might deploy capital.
“The Asean region presents ample opportunity for fintechs to make an impact with their innovative financial solutions. This platform can help to make the investment process more effective so that the countries and their societies can benefit from the progress made,” says Bob Contri, Deloitte Global Financial Services Industry Leader.
“Technology and data are fundamental to the financial industry and capital markets. We are very excited to be working with MAS and Deloitte to design a solution that meets a growing market need, and help fintech companies to unlock opportunities in the Asean region,” says Thomas Yagel, Managing Director, Corporates and Governments Segments at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
MAS, Deloitte, and S&P Global Market Intelligence say they will continue to explore opportunities to develop the platform further.
“We are keen to leverage this platform, and create synergy with the API Exchange that was developed by MAS in collaboration with the World Bank’s International Finance Cooperation and the ASEAN Bankers Association,” Mohanty adds.
