StanChart partners with SuperCharger to seek promising start-ups in Malaysia

SuperCharger FinTech Accelerator is seeking applications from international fintech start-ups and scale-up companies to participate in its first fintech accelerator in Malaysia. The objective of the complimentary, 12-week programme is primarily to help promising fintech companies grow their business in Asia.Following its second accelerator programme in Hong Kong, SuperCharger makes the move to Malaysia with founding partner, Standard Chartered Bank. This is in collaboration with local partners, Allianz Malaysia and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). The programme looks to provide participating fintech companies with market entry resources, outstanding mentorship and strategic counsel from industry experts and venture capitalists.According to a press statement, SuperCharger said it is searching for fintech companies that will shape the digital economy with next generation solutions. Applicants across all verticals of fintech, including WealthTech, InsurTech, payments and alternative lending, and TechFin, including AI, distributed ledger and cloud-based applications, are welcome to apply to the no-fee, no-equity programme.“Malaysia is a key market for us and has established itself as a global centre for Islamic finance. These initiatives give us the opportunity to uncover the brightest fintech companies which will help us deliver the best finance solutions for our customers," Shameek Kundu, Standard Chartered’s global head of data, technology strategy and innovation,  said.“We are currently collaborating on a proof of concept project with Standard Chartered which could potentially transform the bank’s global client onboarding process through the application of blockchain technology. The partnership with Standard Chartered has made an impact on our business because we had to build bank-level infrastructure, security, availability and reliability while also being focused on what the customer needs," KYC-Chain’s founder and CEO Edmund Lovell, said. Lovell is an alumnus of the 2017 cohort of SuperCharger FinTech Accelerator Hong Kong.“It’s very encouraging to see a number of early adopters fully embrace digitisation in the finance industry, having recognised its potential and risks in the context of their existing business models. MDEC has helped several financial institutions to work with start-ups and co-develop FinTech solutions that have helped them develop their own in-house innovation framework. However, many are still lagging behind and they need to change and embrace disruption,"  Dato’ Ng Wan Peng, chief operating officer of MDEC, added.“FinTech companies have a growing influence on financial services and we are very keen to partner with some of these start-up companies to come up with new and exciting products and solutions for our customers. We are confident that our partnership with Standard Chartered and MDEC will help Allianz Malaysia tap into some of the best innovations and ideas made available by fintech companies today,” Allianz Malaysia’s chief executive officer, Zakri Khir, said.SuperCharger’s expansion into Malaysia comes at a time when the country is experiencing a flurry of activity in fintech. Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) admitted start-ups into its regulatory sandbox for the first time earlier this year and the Securities Commission continues to push for supportive regulation on new innovations, like equity crowdfunding.  Moreover, Malaysia is exploring how to become a conduit for new financial innovations, including growing interest in Sharia-compliant fintech services.SuperCharger FinTech Accelerator is open for applications until 18 August 2017. The programme will commence in Kuala Lumpur on 25 September 2017 and conclude with Demo Day in December 2017. SuperCharger was first launched in Hong Kong in 2015 to discover, train and scale promising fintech companies focused on Asia. To date, 16 companies have undergone the programme.