Multiple UN agencies have joined hands with Copenhagen Fintech to bring Nordic fintech startups to Singapore to promote the exchange of innovation.
The agencies involved are UNDP’s Global Center for Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development in Singapore, UNDP’s Nordic Office and UNDP SDG Innovative Finance (UNSIF) in Bangkok. The program is meant to help fast-track their journey towards commercially scalable and sustainable impact-oriented ventures in the ASEAN region.
Local startups tackling some of the world’s most urgent challenges and program partners will also be involved to foster new partnerships and even stronger ties between the two regions. Climate change and its consequences have dominated media headlines for years now, with children and young people across the world protesting to push for a faster green transition.
But climate change is not the only pressing issue we are facing. Obviously, the global pandemic has impacted economies, businesses and individuals all over the world leaving no one untouched. The UN Secretary General’s Task Force on Digital Financing of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has just issued its final report ‘People’s Money: Harnessing Digitalisation to Finance a Sustainable Future’.
It has concluded that the fintech revolution offers major opportunities to accelerate financing of all the SDGs with more and better data, reduced transaction and intermediation costs, and innovative business models. The Task Force has also outlined an Action Agenda, which outlines key catalytic opportunities, steps to evolve sustainable fintech ecosystems, and the necessary digital finance governance innovations.
“Through its Impact Venture Accelerators UNDP is proud to support both established and start-up enterprises to scale up innovative technology and business-based solutions to drive sustainable development and respond to COVID-19. In this new partnership with Copenhagen Fintech, UNDP will help amplify the sustainability focus of the selected ventures and apply its proven impact measurement and management (IMM) methodology.
This reflects a global vision – that in order to achieve the SDGs we must work closely with the most innovative and creative entrepreneurs around the world to incorporate sustainability into the core of business,”
says Bradley Busetto, Director of the UNDP Global Centre for Technology, Innovation and Sustainability.
The program will bring up to six carefully selected Nordic fintech companies to Singapore for a week-long stay. They will be selected based on challenges formulated by UNDP, Copenhagen Fintech and the program partners.
“We are super excited by this opportunity. Singapore and ASEAN region as a whole is a very interesting market for Nordic ‘impact’ fintech companies. The idea was born at the Singapore Fintech Festival and this will further accelerate the close collaboration between our two ecosystems,”
says CEO of Copenhagen Fintech Thomas Krogh Jensen.
Citi and DBS have both signed on to support the program with their strong expertise and local market insights and knowledge. DBS is also a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact and publishes its Sustainability Report annually to summarise its commitment and progress made on the Sustainability Development Goals.
