The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), others unveil US$6M scheme to support fintech startups
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), along with Singapore FinTech Association (SFA), AMTD Group and AMTD Foundation, have jointly announced a S$6M (US$4.2M) package MAS-SFA-AMTD FinTech Solidarity Grant to support fintech companies.
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It will add on the S$125 million support package announced by the MAS on April 8 for companies in the financial sector.
The grant aims to help fintech companies maintain their operations and encourages them to continue innovation and growth.
Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of MAS, said, “There is a surge in demand in the financial services industry around the region for solutions to address the need for remote digital services amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Fintech firms have a great opportunity to step up actively during this period to provide these solutions. The Business Growth Grant will help fintech firms offset their costs.”
Facebook partners with Fave to help local businesses in Singapore
Social media giant Facebook has partnered with Southeast Asia’s mobile payments and rewards platform Fave to help Singaporean businesses affected by COVID-19.
Through this partnership, Facebook (and Instagram) will use its platforms to provide social media users with Fave’s digital gift cards (e-cards) from local businesses operating under Singapore’s circuit-breaker measures, with a special focus in retail, hospitality, and food and beverage (F&B) sectors.
Currently, around 400 local businesses in Singapore like Crave, Jollibean, Nippon Home and Pixie Nail Spa have signed up for the e-cards.
“By joining forces with Facebook and Instagram, we aim to extend support to local businesses further with utmost speed and urgency. Our partnership will accelerate our local businesses’ ability to adapt and digitalise while providing a much-needed income boost to keep them afloat during these challenging times,” said Ng Aik-Phong, MD of Fave Singapore.
SESTO Robotics launches disinfectant robot to address the urgent need for better hygiene
Singaporean robot company SESTO Robotics has launched a dual-function autonomous mobile disinfectant robot SESTO HealthGUARD to address the urgent needs of hygiene during COVID-19.
The robot will be valuable not only to ensure clean facilities but will also help to maintain social distancing.
The robots can be set up via a tablet or laptop and can be used to clean large surfaces more efficiently through its multi-nozzle sprayer.
“Our self-navigating, fully-autonomous SESTO HealthGUARD is ready for round-the-clock thorough facility disinfection. Applying our knowledge in deep-tech and robotics, the team at SESTO Robotics hopes to accelerate public health and safety with innovation and technology,” said Ang Chor Chen, CEO of SESTO Robotics.
Alpha Startup Digital Accelerator announces winners of its first batch
Malaysia’s first Digital Accelerator programme, the Alpha Startup Digital Accelerator (ASDA), has announced three startups out of 15 as the winner of its first batch, they are – BlueDuck, Internspoon and Nanobar.
The three companies have been awarded around US$14,000 [RM 60,000] in total to kickstart their business ideas.
BlueDuck is a prop-tech startup which saves property investors time and money by automating expensive manual processes with cloud-based solutions and flat fee services.
Nanobar is a small vending machine, appropriate for any hotel room countertop, to help online brands have a physical store through spot purchasing in-room.
Internspoon is an internship platform that matches interns to employers.
Singaporean startups join Scaler8 for long-term opportunities in Germany post-COVID-19
Six deeptech startups operating in the medtech and AI have joined Scaler8, an expansion programme that helps Singaporean companies expand to Germany, with the goal to produce and scale solutions to fight against the virus.
They are:
TeleMedC: A remote diagnostics medtech startup for eye diseases.
Biorithm: A wearable device that enables continuous and automated monitoring of fetal and maternal heart rates.
Cognicept: Focuses on efficient robot communication via human-in-the-loop (HITL) error handling with tele-robotic networking technology and human remote operators.
dDriven: Creates live, cross-functional digital replica of business and manufacturing operations using its no-code platform
Attonics Systems: Bridges gaps between high-end spectroscopy and industry demands for intuitive, mobile and affordable sensing solutions
RADICALi: Provides an intuitive and user-friendly system for compliance teams to collaborate remotely and manage workflows
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Image Credit: Mike Enerio
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