SuperCharger Fintech Accelerator logs 12 signed PoC with 11 financial institutions

• Collaborates with Asia Pacific University on fintech specialisation
• To be complemented by the creation of the APU SuperCharger Fintech Academy

THE second Malaysian edition of the SuperCharger Fintech Accelerator programme, which is powered by Allianz Life Insurance Malaysia Sdn Bhd and operated in partnership with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), PwC, Shearn Delamore and Time dotCom Bhd, has concluded with record results announced at its Demo Day at the annual SCxSC Fintech Conference held at the Securities Commission Malaysia, Bukit Kiara .

Featuring a cohort of 10 international tech companies from Malaysia, India, Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, SuperCharger’s second Malaysia programme logged 12 signed proof of concepts (PoC) with 11 financial institutions, a record for a Malaysian Fintech accelerator, with a further 14 potential PoCs in the pipeline. In addition, the SuperCharger Malaysia 2018 cohort also closed 52 contracts with Malaysian SMEs.

The 12-week programme enables local and international scale-ups to quickly establish their operations in Malaysia and expand in the region by engaging multiple key stakeholders to lend their support and expertise.

This year, founders could incorporate their company in Malaysia without cost via Shearn Delamore, receive free hosting via TIME’s cloud services for their proof of concept, as well as access a renewed list of established mentors from banks, NGOs, investors, recruitment firms and government agencies.

Additional support was offered by way of workshops delivered by MDEC, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Securities Commission Malaysia, Shearn Delamore, TIME, Ambition, and BIX Malaysia.

During the programme, SuperCharger facilitated 182 introductions to banks, investors, mentors, and MNCs, as well as organising a series of open days with key personnel at financial institutions around Malaysia, including Allianz, UOB, OCBC, RHB, CIMB, Public Bank, PNB, Maybank and PwC.

“What is great about SuperCharger is their ability to attract global talents to Asia and to provide organisations such as Allianz Malaysia access to these innovators and their solutions,” said Joseph Gross, the CEO of Allianz Life Insurance Malaysia Bhd.

“Last year, through SuperCharger, we were able to partner up with Pand.ai who created Aida to serve as our AI chatbot for our modular home insurance – Smart Home Cover. This year, we are looking forward to seeing firsthand some of bright ideas that we as insurers can leverage on.”

“The results demonstrate that the Malaysian fintech ecosystem is not only vibrant, but also desirable for international companies looking to expand into the Asean market,” said Johnny Mayo, the Asia general manager for SuperCharger.

“It is my hope that next year our cohort can collaborate with even more industry players to utilise the latest talent and technologies.

“Being part of SuperCharger has rapidly accelerated our growth in Southeast Asia, a region we will now be serving out of Kuala Lumpur with local employees and investment.” said Dr Bimal Bhanu, CEO & co-founder of AuditXPRT, one of the companies to sign multiple PoCs during the programme.

“SuperCharger enabled Laka to jumpstart the launch of our innovative insurance solution in Malaysia.

“In a few months we’ve transcended from distant observers of the domestic market to being a deeply connected, openly-welcomed new entrant with access to an unrivalled network of industry contacts, investors, and media. We’re delighted to expand our Asean operations out of Kuala Lumpur,” said Tobias Taupitz, CEO & co-founder of Laka.

In addition to the record accelerator results, SuperCharger also announced the creation of a financial technology specialisation that will be offered to students taking their Bachelor’s in Banking and Finance in an active collaboration with Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation.

The joint venture will be expanded to more courses in 2019 and be complemented by the creation of the APU SuperCharger Fintech Academy, to be situated on campus at Bukit Jalil, in a bid to help drive the future development of industry talent in the country.