In this session we kick off MEFTI - a one-week-long FinTech startup bootcamp. We cover what to expect, do some team building, and end with a challenge for the cohort to think expansively about problems worth solving in different FinTech industry verticals.
6. 6
"Getting an education
at MIT is like taking a
drink from a fire hose.”
- Former MIT President
Jerome Wiesner (1971-1980)
7.
8. Optional DE sessions
8
Light green sessions are optional BUT
• At least one member per team must attend
• Sign up sheet on google drive
9. Tomorrow: Shenzhen
9
Morning: WeBank
• China’s first private commercial; Tencent major shareholder
• Henry Ma, EVP & Chief Information Officer
• Huiya Yao, Head of FinTech Innovation
• Tyler Aveni, Senior Product Manager
10. Tomorrow: Shenzhen
10
Afternoon: Digital Experience
• What is it like to live in a truly cashless society?
• Mobile payment, WeChat
• Cohort split into 6 groups, led by Shenzhen volunteers to
experience different activities.
• Groupings - check your colored stickers on badge!
• Depart Shenzhen ~ 3:00pm
11. Tomorrow: Shenzhen
11
Logistics
• Get on bus at hotel lobby by 7:30am
• BRING PASSPORT / TRAVEL DOCS!
• 2 groups at border crossing:
– Foreign passport holders
– China card holders (China / Hong Kong / Taiwan)
• Wear MEFTI shirt
• Eat early breakfast, bring water. Casual wear.
• Back to Node by 5pm; dinner on your own!
13. Resources: Mentors & PMR Contacts
13
Mentors
• Mentorship on Thursday, August 30 | 6:30pm
• 12 mentors and biographies on website
• We will match unless you request by Thursday noon
PMR Contacts (August 28, 29, 30 project time)
• 13 industry insiders, 15-minute session each
• PMR list on google drive. We will provide contact info.
14. Resources: Readings on google drive
14
FinTech references
• FinTech Overview
• Analysts who write about FinTech
• Articles about FinTech in China and Hong Kong
• Stories about FinTech startups
• Datasets
17. Team formation
• 5-6 teams of no more than 4 or 5
• Solve for diversity!
• HK / MIT
• Engineering / Design / Business
• Hacker / Hustler / Hipster
• Visionary / Get-stuff-done
• More on this later
• Teams formed by Monday 10pm
17
18. Showcase judging rubric!
• Team Chemistry
• Problem statement
• Proposed solution
• Business model & financial potential
• Presentation skills
• Overall Impressions
18
Charlie starts us off (insert any slide between 1 and 3)
Marina MCs introductions
Marina MCs 1x1 intro activity.
Who has 0?
Who has < 10? > 10? > 100? How?
Competition vs. collaboration. Higher wins for all when we collaborate.
Marina MCs 1x1 intro activity
The Ray and Maria Stata Center or Building 32 is a 720,000-square-foot (67,000 m2) academic complex designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry
Marina talks about the week, foreshadow PMR on Wed… (also foreshadow the logistics, whatsapp, landing page, google drive etc)
10pm close each night with overnight on Aug 30 (Thurs)
Marina
WeBank: China’s first online-only commercial bank, Tencent is major shareholder
Integrates with Wechat.
Intro
Product and Fintech strategy
WeChat intro reading on g drive
Liea
Liea
How to use? Leverage both primary and secondary research
MEFTI fintech resources
Getting high quality financial data is tricky but here are some sources
George
Marina
Marina
MEFTI stands for MIT Entrepreneurship and FinTech Integrator. It is a one week long fintech startup at the very end of the summer, the week before the fall semester begins.
Before we get into the details, let’s talk for a moment about why we do a FinTech bootcamp in HK. Very simple: China is the most happening economy where it comes to FinTech. According to KPMG, 5 of the 10 top FinTech innovators, worldwide, are based in China. A mainland Chinese person can conduct their entire lives on WeChat. Hong Kong has a storied history as the financial hub of Asia, and it is a gateway to China. Hong Kong is also in close proximity to Southeast Asia, where there are 500-700m people who are unbanked, without access to credit, and generally underserved. These countries have the possibility of leapfrogging the traditional financial services and going straight into the 21st century with things like mobile payments and alternative credit scoring mechanisms, that will help improve financial inclusion for all.
And so, if you want to look at the cutting edge stuff that’s happening, look to the north. If you want to look at ways to provide financial inclusion for the unserved, look to the south. It’s hard to find a more geographically relevant gateway to explore FinTech in the APAC area.