[November 15, 2018] |
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Alipay Teams with NUS Enterprise to Launch Social Innovation Challenge
Alipay, the world's largest mobile and online payment platform operated
by Ant Financial Services Group ("Ant Financial"), and NUS Enterprise,
the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore ("NUS"),
today announced the launch of a new initiative to support digital
technology innovation throughout Southeast Asia.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181115005418/en/
The Alipay-NUS Enterprise Social Innovation Challenge aims to identify
and support the growth of start-ups in Southeast Asia that are using
digital technology to build a more inclusive society. Areas of focus
include, but are not limited to, enabling low-income groups to gain
access to better educational opportunities, supporting elderly
individuals leverage digital technologies to enhance their lifestyle,
and helping people with disabilities through upskilling and reskilling
initiatives.
"Since Alipay's inception in 2004, we have been dedicated to using
digital technology to bring equal opportunities to the world. In
particular, we want to make financial services simple, low-cost and
accessible to the many, rather than the few. While the impact of one
company may be limited, an ecosystem of partners who stand behind the
same vision will be able to achieve much more. We look forward to
working with our new partner NUS Enterprise, to identify and support the
growth of the most innovative start-ups in Southeast Asia. It is
exciting for us to be involved with teams creating lasting impact for
their communities and addressing real world problems, such as aging,
poverty and lack of access to development opportunities," said Geoff
JIANG, Vice President, General Manager of Technology and Business
Innovation Group at Ant Financial.
"We are delighted to partner with Ant Financial and Alipay in this
worthy initiative, to seek out the most innovative start-ups involved in
developing digital technologies that will build a more inclusive society
and a better world for everyone. NUS Enterprise will help these
innovators scale their efforts and maximise social impact, through our
strong support ecosystem and extensive entrepreneurial networks, which
include mentors, impact investors, corporate CSR (News - Alert) teams, capacity
builders and community partners," said Professor Wong Poh Kam, Senior
Director, NUS Entrepreneurship Centre, a division of NUS Enterprise.
The inaugural Alipay-NUS Enterprise Social Innovation Challenge will
take place in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Applicants can
participate by registering online at www.alipaynusseachallenge.com.
Applications will close in January 2019. The first round of judging will
determine the top three winners within each country, who will each
receive a cash prize of SGD $10,000. The nine finalists will compete for
the top cash prize of SGD $50,000 in the grand finale, to be held in
Singapore in March 2019.
The winning teams will not only receive financial rewards to invest
toward increasing their social impact, but also receive support to
accelerate their growth through networks, mentorship and partnership
opportunities with Ant Financial, NUS and othr partners in the
ecosystem. Top teams will also receive three-month incubation support by
NUS Enterprise, as well as access to its BLOCK71 community and
co-working space in Singapore, Bandung, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Suzhou and
San Francisco.
A series of workshops and roadshows will be held in Singapore, Malaysia
and Indonesia, to build awareness of the challenge, encourage
applications and support further growth for the participating teams.
Alipay and NUS Enterprise will offer direct access to experts from
different parts of the business, alongside other social entrepreneurs
and established innovators, who will share their expertise and
experiences.
In addition, the winners will become eligible for the 10x1000 Tech for
Inclusion programme jointly provided by International Financial
Corporation ("IFC"), a member of the World Bank Group, and Alipay. The
comprehensive training programme will support the cultivation of 1,000
technology experts in emerging markets from both public and private
sectors over the next 10 years. There will also be potential
opportunities to work with Ant Financial and Alipay on CSR initiatives.
This latest initiative builds on the work and strategic partnerships
that Ant Financial has been carrying out in Southeast Asia. Ant
Financial has been sharing its technology capabilities with strategic
e-wallet partners such as TrueMoney in Thailand, DANA in Indonesia,
GCash in the Philippines and Touch 'n Go in Malaysia, to enable them to
innovate and better service their customers.
"The Alipay-NUS Enterprise Social Innovation Challenge brings together
the entrepreneurs, technologists, innovators, educators, investors,
mentors and change-makers who are all passionate about building a more
inclusive society. It is through such collaborative efforts that we can
maximise the benefits of digital technologies, and create a better world
for everyone," said NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye.
About Ant Financial
Ant Financial Services Group is dedicated to using technology to bring
the world equal opportunities. Our technologies, including blockchain,
artificial intelligence, security, Internet of Things and computing,
empower us and our ecosystem partners to serve the unbanked and
underbanked, bringing more secure, transparent, cost-effective and
inclusive financial services to individuals and SMEs worldwide.
Ant Financial has formed international partnerships with global
strategic partners to serve local users in those markets, and we serve
Chinese travelers overseas by connecting Alipay with online and offline
merchants in popular destinations. Brands under Ant Financial Services
Group include Alipay, Ant Fortune, Zhima Credit, MYbank and Ant
Financial Cloud.
For more information on Ant Financial, please visit our website at www.antfin.com
or follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @AntFinancial.
About Alipay
Operated by Ant Financial Services Group, Alipay is the world's largest
mobile and online payment platform. Launched in 2004, Alipay currently
works with over 200 domestic financial institution partners. Over the
years, Alipay has evolved from a digital wallet to a lifestyle enabler.
Users can hail a taxi, book a hotel, buy movie tickets, pay utility
bills, make appointments with doctors, or purchase wealth management
products directly from within the app. In addition to online payments,
Alipay is expanding to in-store offline payments both inside and outside
of China. Alipay's in-store payment service covers over 40 countries and
regions across the world, and tax reimbursement via Alipay is supported
in 29 countries and regions. Alipay works with over 250 overseas
financial institutions and payment solution providers to enable
cross-border payments for Chinese travelling overseas and overseas
customers who purchase products from Chinese e-commerce sites. Alipay
currently supports 27 currencies.
About National University of Singapore (NUS)
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is Singapore's flagship
university, which offers a global approach to education, research and
entrepreneurship, with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. We
have 17 faculties across three campuses in Singapore, as well as 11 NUS
Overseas Colleges across the world. Close to 40,000 students from 100
countries enrich our vibrant and diverse campus community.
Our multidisciplinary and real-world approach to education, research and
entrepreneurship enables us to work closely with industry, governments
and academia to address crucial and complex issues relevant to Asia and
the world. Researchers in our faculties, 29 university-level research
institutes, research centres of excellence and corporate labs focus on
themes that include energy, environmental and urban sustainability;
treatment and prevention of diseases common among Asians; active ageing;
advanced materials; as well as risk management and resilience of
financial systems. Our latest research focus is on the use of data
science, operations research and cybersecurity to support Singapore's
Smart Nation initiative. For more information on NUS, please visit www.nus.edu.sg.
About NUS Enterprise
NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of
Singapore (NUS), plays a pivotal role in advancing innovation and
entrepreneurship at NUS and beyond. It actively promotes
entrepreneurship and cultivates global mind-sets and talents through the
synergies of experiential entrepreneurial education, active industry
partnerships, holistic entrepreneurship support and catalytic
entrepreneurship outreach. Its initiatives and global connections
support a range of entrepreneurial journeys and foster ecosystem
building in new markets. These initiatives augment and complement the
University's academic programmes and act as a unique bridge to industry
well beyond Singapore's shores. For more information, please visit www.enterprise.nus.edu.sg
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181115005418/en/
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