EY co-organised a matchmaking initiatives, The Investor Summit and Meet ASEAN's Talents and Champions (MATCH) together with MAS as part of the festival with the aim to promote private equity and venture capital deal flow in ASEAN through connecting startups across multiple industries to investors. To maximize exposure and awareness of MATCH, EY also conducted four roadshows alongside The Open Vault at OCBC. Together with MAS, EY hosted MATCH’s Deal Day, where investors and companies who have registered to be “matchmade” were given the opportunity to physically convene and interact.

1. How EY teams help
facilitate capital flows
and cooperation in the
FinTech community
The Investor Summit brings investors,
corporates and start-ups together in
a shared vision of accessible financial
services for customers.

2. 2 | How EY teams help facilitate capital flows and cooperation in the FinTech community
How can we drive greater synergy between
FinTechs and key market players?
With greater synergy, FinTechs can surmount the challenges they face and
thrive in the markets.
In recent years, services provided by FinTech startups
have gained prominence and are increasingly impacting
consumers, financial institutions and economies. In the first
nine months of 2018, total VC-backed FinTech investment
was US$32.6 billion, driven by a record investment of
US$14 billion raised by Ant Financial in the second quarter.
Singapore was named as a leading global FinTech hub in
a 2018 joint report issued by The Institute of Chartered
Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Institute
of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) due to its strength
in five areas — markets, talent, capital, regulation and
government1
.
However, one in five FinTech firms think Singapore doesn’t
attract enough venture capital. EY ASEAN Fintech Census
revealed that while 77% of FinTechs in Singapore think there is
enough venture capital (VC) to bag funds from, 23% still think
there are not enough VCs in the country2
.
Due to some FinTechs taking years to turn profitable3
,
coupled with high operating costs, underfunding of FinTechs
has been a well-documented factor behind the fall of many
promising FinTechs4
.
Source:
1. https://www.icaew.com/-/media/corporate/files/technical/information-technology/technology/fintech-innovation-perspectives-from-singapore-and-london.ashx
2. https://sbr.com.sg/financial-services/news/1-in-5-fintech-firms-think-singapore-doesnt-attract-enough-venture-capital
3. http://tfageeks.com/2017/09/24/fintech-startups-failures-and-the-promise-to-emerge/
4. https://www.businessinsider.in/Heres-the-huge-question-facing-fintech-startups-can-they-make-any-money/articleshow/52620440.cms
5. http://www.bankingexchange.com/news-feed/item/6554-10-reasons-fintech-startups-fail
6. http://fintechnews.sg/20296/fintech/reasons-why-fintech-startups-fail/
Alongside underfunding, reasons such as choosing the
wrong strategic investors, venture capitalists, overlooking
compliance and failure to devise a good sales strategy5
are
key contributors to the downfall of FinTechs as well6
.
In light of these developments, EY wondered how we can
improve the connection between FinTechs, investors and
financial service providers to not only shore up funding but
also to make the right connections, which are key for the
developmental needs of FinTechs.

3. 3How EY teams help facilitate capital flows and cooperation in the FinTech community |
Source:
7. https://www.asiaone.com/business/us2b-of-capital-available-for-fintech-startups-through-singapore-fintech-festival-2017s
EY initiatives create an avenue from which
startups can obtain the support they require.
EY partners MAS in empowering startups through the Singapore
Fintech Festival.
Singapore Fintech Festival 2017 attracted more than 30,000
participants from over 100 countries. To forge connections
among regulatory bodies, financial institutions and startups,
EY launched the EY ASEAN FinTech Starter Kit as an
integrated platform for regulatory bodies to ensure start-ups
have passed compliance standards.
The Investor Summit, a matchmaking initiative co-organised
by EY and MAS as part of the festival, saw the participation
of more than 1,000 FinTech start-ups and 400 investors, and
resulted in 525 connections made among interested parties as
well as up to US$2 billion of capital was made available for the
start-ups7
.
Building on the 2017 edition, in 2018, EY expanded the
Investor Summit to include MATCH, with the aim to promote
private equity and venture capital deal flow in ASEAN through
connecting startups across multiple industries to investors.
To maximize exposure and awareness of MATCH, EY
conducted four roadshows alongside The Open Vault at
OCBC. Investors and companies were engaged and provided
their respective matches via personalized e-mails, where
over 400 meetings between startups and potential investors
were curated.
Together with MAS, EY hosted MATCH’s Deal Day on 5 October
2018, where investors and companies who have registered
to be “matchmade” were given the opportunity to physically
convene and interact in a “speed-dating” fashion. Each
enterprise had 15 minutes to pitch their case to one investor
before proceeding to the next investor. Throughout the event,
investors were given opportunities to directly network with the
participating startups.
Together, with MATCH as the platform, MAS and EY helped
startups reach out to relevant investors ranging from angel
investors to venture capitals (VC) and FIs, striving to better
connect stakeholders in the ecosystem.
On top of the physical event, a digital MATCH platform was
also launched to quickly connect investors and enterprises,
further increasing the possibility of connecting face-to-
face following a mutual match, enhancing the networking
opportunities between investors and enterprises.
“On the back of fast-growing economies, a digital-savvy
young middle-income population and high mobile and internet
penetration rates, we see a thriving entrepreneur and start-up
ecosystem across ASEAN particularly in the technology and
FinTech sectors. Having said that, many SMEs continue to face
challenges in seeking access to funding or opportunities to
connect with the right investors. Participating investors have
told us that they found the Deal Day event useful as it helps
them to effectively uncover potential start-ups to invest in.”
says Max Loh, EY ASEAN Leader and Managing Partner, EY
ASEAN and Singapore.

4. 4 | How EY teams help facilitate capital flows and cooperation in the FinTech community
Source:
8. http://fintechnews.sg/26301/events/highlights-of-the-singapore-fintech-festival-2018/
9. http://www.mas.gov.sg/News-and-Publications/Media-Releases/2018/Singapore-FinTech-Festival-attracts-US12-billion-of-capital-for-ASEAN-enterprises.aspx
EY matched FinTechs to key players such
as financial institutions, investors and
regulators.
Singapore FinTech Festival initiatives represent EY continual efforts to help bring
about a better FinTech ecosystem.
The Singapore Fintech Festival 2018 brought together
40,000 participants from over 100 countries in the largest
ever gathering of the global FinTech community8
. It gave
startups exposure to over 40,000 Festival attendees, ranging
from FIs and regulators to investors and other FinTech firms
and offered an opportunity for the FinTechs to network and
expand their connections.
380 participating investors who enrolled for the Singapore
FinTech Festival’s deal-making platform, MATCH, have
indicated intentions to invest up to a total of US$6.2 billion in
ASEAN enterprises next year, and an additional US$6 billion
earmarked over the subsequent two years9
.
Initiatives such as MATCH and FinTech Deal Day during the
Singapore FinTech Festival 2018 were vital in powering the
heartbeat of a blooming FinTech era, with these efforts to
create an inclusive habitat for the global FinTech community
bringing about vital opportunities for startups flourish and grow.
With improved initiatives and programs in every subsequent
edition of the Singapore FinTech Festival, the returns are
invaluable as they help to support the growth of startups
and deliver untapped value to the world of financial services
and businesses.
With EY extensive global network and FinTech expertise, EY
ASEAN FinTech team is committed to working with industry
participants comprising FinTechs, investors, governments,
educational institutions, accelerators, and incubators, to help
bring about a better FinTech ecosystem.
EY has been a proud partner to MAS,
successfully powering a number of
Singapore FinTech Festival initiatives such
as the Investor Summit and Meet ASEAN’s
Talents and Champions (MATCH).
MAS and EY commit to strengthening
partnerships between key players of the
FinTech community with every subsequent
edition of the Singapore FinTech Festival.

5. 5How EY teams help facilitate capital flows and cooperation in the FinTech community |
Varun Mittal
Global Emerging Markets FinTech
Leader, Associate Partner
+65 94 450 420
varun.mittal@sg.ey.com
Contact us

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