AZURA ZAINAL: Startupbootcamp FinTech with RHB

So last weekend something amazing happened from the 13th -15th of May 2016. A weekend filled with young brilliant minds who strive to make a name and impact with the world. This event was catered for entrepreneurs, designers, developers and digital business owners who are keen on finding the right solutions for businesses.

RHB Bank has teamed up with Startupbootcamp FinTech to bring digital innovations in financial services to the Malaysian market.

Startupbootcamp FinTech is Europe’s leading accelerator, and the first of its kind, focused on financial innovation, providing FinTech startups with funding, mentorship and guidance from leading financial services industry partners. Startups will also gain access to a global network of investors and venture capitalists. It's really cool right!

Under this partnership, RHB will be involved in the evaluation process, funding, mentoring for the FinTech Accelerator programme, as well as organising of Fast Track Days and Hackathons that just took place last weekend. How awesome is that right??

You must be wondering, so how does it all work? Well, here's how :-

1) Start-ups from across the region are invited to apply in pitching their ideas to the host team/ partners where 10 will be qualified to move on to the next level. From here, they will go on to the accelerator programme that will go on for 3 months.

2) The 10 teams will then be invited to present their companies/ideas to more than 200 investors, mentors, and partners during Demo Day.

3) Pitch preparation includes hands-on guidance from investors, and leads into 3 months of fundraising support.

4) All start-ups are later offered 3 months of additional co-working space by their host program to consolidate connections and often raise funding. They also join over 200 startups in the world’s leading Alumni Growth Program, which offers monthly masterclasses, frequent gatherings, and access to the most important scaling resources such as later stage investors, PR contacts and recruiting support.

It was pretty much an intense yet productive and awesome experience. So many different ideas were brought to the table and I'm pretty sure it was hard to pick the best out of the best! Thank goodness I wasn't given that role! hahahah.

But at the end of it all, there needed to be winners and here they are!!

Overall Innovation – won by team AgentHero with members Bobby Ong Chong Eu and Lee Teik Ming. The app is designed to teleport a financial advisor to customer’s doorstep.
Best Technical Solution – won by team Muin Bot with members Raja Hafify and Jonathan Wong. Muin Bot is an intelligence chat interface that works as another channel for millennials to engage the bank and financial advisors. It is also an avenue for banks to capture or reach millennials
Best Fit to a Challenge – won by Team A with members Leong Yok Tien, Tan Khai Ping and Chew Chit Siang. The app acts as a goal oriented wealth assistant.