Razer Fintech organises May 15-17 hackathon to solve financial challenges amid pandemic

RAZER'S fintech arm, Razer Fintech, will launch its first digital hackathon in Singapore to "support and resolve issues faced by the youth and local startups due to the Covid-19 crisis".

The hackathon, scheduled for May 15 to May 17, aims to encourage Singapore tertiary students, young professionals and the startup community to "think outside the box and address critical financial challenges" that have been exacerbated by the novel coronavirus pandemic, Razer Fintech said on Tuesday. 

Winning participants will be able to implement and operationalise their original banking solutions within Razer Fintech's financial services ecosystem or with its partners, through securing full-time employment, internships, investments or commercial partnerships.

Participating teams are encouraged to come up with solutions for challenges in the following areas: shrinking job and knowledge opportunities as companies rightsize their workforce; underinsured consumers and their lack of familarity with cashless solutions; limited funding options in the capital markets for small and medium-sized enterprises as well as limited access to traditional funding sources; the urgent need for traditional businesses to go digital; and companies' difficulties in accessing grants and support schemes in a timely and efficient manner.

Teams will stand to win cash totalling S$20,000 as well as other prizes sponsored by Razer Fintech. Other sponsors include Amazon Web Services, Mambu, Visa, PwC, FWD and Perx Technologies.

The digital hackathon is also supported by the Singapore Management University and the Singapore Fintech Association.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Monday, 3.30 pm

Garage

The hottest news on all things startup and tech to kickstart your week.

Sign Up

"The need for the evolution of the financial services industry to be able to react efficiently and effectively has become even more apparent," said Lee Li Meng, chief strategy officer of Razer and chief executive officer of the fintech arm. Digital financial services with innovative and sustainable solutions will play a critical role in supporting the needs of businesses and individuals "during these extraordinary times as well as post Covid-19", he added.

Participants are to form teams of up to four and register by 6pm on May 13.

They can sign up either on Razer's website or via email to rf_hackathon@razer.com with their names, mobile numbers and email addresses.

The event will kick off with educational sessions hosted by Amazon Web Services, Mambu and Visa. Teams will then formulate their proposed solution's value proposition and product design, before starting a 48-hour hackathon to develop their concepts into protoypes.

Shortlisted teams will compete in the finals through a virtual pitch session, which will be live-streamed on Twitch on May 17. They will be judged primarily on their technical ability and coding efficiency under significant time pressure, as well as their product value proposition.