The Digital Penang Fintech Hackathon, a collaborative initiative of Digital Penang with its partners Finexus and Touch ‘n Go Digital, was a success.
In a statement, the Penang-based government agency said the hackathon was held virtually for two months from November to December 2021 with 35 teams across Malaysia creating a fintech digital product on the Finexus’ MyXaaS Innovation Platform.
It was the first hackathon event for Digital Penang which aims to accelerate efforts to spur the digital economy and open up more opportunities by connecting tech talents to industry leaders, it said.
A total of US$12,800 (RM54,000) in API credits and cash was awarded to the top three teams of the hackathon who were judged based on innovation, business viability and integration completeness of their fintech products.
Tony Yeoh, chief executive officer (CEO) of Digital Penang, said the Fintech Hackathon aims to encourage and motivate tech talents through the enabling of their creation in a real-world setting.
“While major banking institutions and financial services are based in the Klang Valley, we hope to spur fintech innovations through hackathons that will disrupt the industry,” he said.
“We will be organising more hackathons to encourage and attract talents in our efforts of building the digital ecosystem,” said Yeoh.
The winning team is 404 Not Found for its charity cloud e-wallet, which turns savings’ interest into donations, taking home US$4,750 (RM20,000) API Credits and US$2,370 (RM10,000) cash.
The second and third place winners are MinersTech with its easy fundraising-packaged crowdfunding App, and Canada Hippo with its one-stop subscription management app.
Clement Loh, Finexus Group managing director and CEO, said the company is delighted to partner with Digital Penang in this hackathon with a common goal to help these organisations realise their opportunities.
‘Finexus’ MyXaaS Innovation Platform is a foundry for builders offering ‘as a Service,’ including financial capital lending and infrastructure as-a-service.
“Technopreneurs, academia and socialpreneurs can build their digital products and services faster by leveraging our proven solutions and approved financial licenses.”
“We invite all techno builders to our collaborative workspaces at our MyXaaS Innovation Centres, Penang and Cyberjaya as we would like to work with and lend them a hand to go-to-market sooner comprehensively,” said Loh.
Going forward, Digital Penang and Finexus will also be working closely to drive the digital ecosystem for the Creative Digital District @ George Town.
Additionally, Finexus will invest US$2.37 million (RM10 million) to build the MyXaaS Innovation Centre in Penang over the next five years to collaborate with local academia and tech communities.