The broad collaboration is expected to foster deeper research, talent pool building, entrepreneurship and thought leadership in Singapore and the region.

In recent years, Asia has grown into one of the innovation hotspots of the fintech revolution.

According to data from the latest EY data, Asia has retained its global leadership in fintech adoption. In the past two years, consumer usage rates of fintech-powered services have doubled across key Asia markets.

As the region pushes the envelope on innovations for digital transformation, one more partnership has been announced to drive the advancement of the region’s financial services industry through tailor-made program and co-sharing of expertise.

Tencent Financial Technology (FiT) will be partnering the Asian Institute of Digital Finance (AIDF), an institute within the National University of Singapore (NUS) that is jointly founded by The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the National Research Foundation(NRF) and the university.

Under the partnership, Tencent FiT and AIDF will collaborate in the areas of research, education, and entrepreneurship to support Asia’s fast-growing digital finance industry. The two parties will collaborate to bring thought leadership to the fintech community and build fintech leadership pipeline in the region.

Other areas of collaboration

In addition to organizing industry events and bespoke training programs, the areas of collaboration will also include:

  • Expanding knowledge expertise in fintech research: This includes conducting research into deep-tech solutions to address real-world problems, focusing on areas such as cross-border payments for the continued growth of the industry and the benefits of the society. 
  • Developing the fintech talent pool: Tencent FiT and AIDF will offer curated training and development initiatives for employees as well as internship programs.
  • Driving innovations in fintech: An annual research challenge competition will be jointly launched for AIDF students and participating fintech start-ups under the AIDF incubator program.

According to Forest Lin, Corporate Vice President of Tencent and President of Tencent FiT: “Through our partnership with AIDF, we want to support Asia’s smart city initiatives by nurturing the next generation of talents with global perspectives, as well as to drive financial innovations and leadership in the fintech industry. We are committed to partnering with local regulators, research institutions and companies to seek innovative solutions to problems and to help businesses stay competitive within and beyond their markets.”

Duan Jin-Chuan, Executive Director, Asian Institute of Digital Finance, National University of Singapore, said: “The joint initiatives with Tencent are meant to nurture the next generation of fintech leaders and contributors in the region with both technical knowledge and industry expertise. The collaboration will also help advance cutting-edge digital financial technologies, pushing Asia’s Fintech frontier forward.”