The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has appointed its ex-managing director Ravi Menon as the chairman of a new entity focused on growing Singapore's fintech ecosystem with the global community.
Called the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), the entity “replaces and builds upon” Elevandi, the non-profit organisation set up by MAS in 2021 to organise and globalise the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF).
GFTN will continue to operate as a not-for-profit, and will work with the MAS on industry and policy dialogues in the areas of payments, asset tokenisation and AI/quantum.
Menon, who was the managing director for the MAS from 2011 to 2023, is currently Singapore’s Ambassador for Climate Action and Senior Adviser at the National Climate Change Secretariat.
“The establishment of GFTN could not have been more timely. We are witnessing today rapid advances in several dimensions of technology that will have a deep impact on economies and societies,” Menon said to media on Oct 30, explaining the set-up of the GFTN.
As this is an additional role to his two existing portfolios, Menon explains that both issues of sustainability and innovation are “very close to his heart”. “As a retiree, I have a little bit of bandwidth, so I can also do this,” he says.
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“So this is unprecedented territory. These rapid changes demand closer and more meaningful engagements between countries, between the public and private sectors, between finance and technology, policy, regulation and industry practices must be coherent so that we can harness the benefits of these technologies while managing the advanced science,” Menon adds.
Menon announced that GFTN will include four strategic businesses, a step up from the only one that Elevandi had — forums, advisory, platforms and capital.
Forums are meant to expand SFF's global footprint into new geographies beyond the five existing forums, while the advisory business will provide practitioner-led consultancy and capacity building services on fintech issues.
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Platforms will give market access and analytics to support areas such as sustainability reporting, while capital will help “catalyse” equity investments into early stage and growth stage startups that have potential for positive social or environmental impact.
Menon says that this fund, which has yet to apply for a licence with the MAS, will come from limited partners around the world. The MAS will not be contributing to the fund. “MAS is a central bank, it does not invest in start-ups,” explains Menon.
Capital will also focus on innovations in the Global South, which refer to countries in regions such as Africa and Latin America, which have fintech sectors expected to grow at 30% per annum by 2030.
For this reason, GFTN’s fourth line of business, capital, will run differently from the first three. It will have a different legal structure and will be run commercially, Menon says. Meanwhile, the forums, advisory and platforms business will operate purely on a capped profit basis.
Like Elevandi, GTFN will strive to be financially self-sustaining and may not be able to break even during the initial period, but it has “every intention of breaking even over time”, according to Menon. The group has “initial financial projections”, but Menon stresses that it is more important that GFTN can return to being financially self-sufficient in three to five years' time.
“GFTN will be like Elevandi on steroids, without the negative connotation, of course,” says Menon. “The board of directors has just been formed, the management team is coming together… We need to spend the next few months sitting together and refining our strategies, translating those broad strategies into specific KPIs and goals for each year for the next five years.”
The ex-MAS managing director says that more details about GFTN will be unveiled at the SFF happening next week.
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The GFTN now has about 40 people within the organisation. MAS’s current chief fintech officer, Sopnendu Mohanty, will relinquish his role and join the GFTN on Feb 1, 2025 as the group chief executive officer. A release by MAS notes that Mohanty will continue to support MAS as the advisor to MAS’s fintech & innovation group.
He will be replaced by Kenneth Gay, who will be appointed as the designated chief fintech officer from Nov 6 until Jan 31, 2025. Gay has been with MAS for over 20 years serving in regulatory and technology roles, and is currently executive director heading the enterprise knowledge department.
Meanwhile, the deputy managing director of MAS, Leong Sing Chiong; and non-executive chairman of Tikehau Capital, Neil Parekh, have been appointed as deputy chairmen of GFTN. Parekh is also a nominated member of parliament and a member of the MAS's equities market review group.
“As I've said at almost every fintech festival in the last eight years, everything we do in fintech must have a larger purpose. It's not just about technology. It is about creating economic opportunity. It is about strengthening resilience. It is about improving people's lives. It is about securing a sustainable planet for the future. These have been the guiding principles underpinning Singapore's fintech journey. They will guide GTFN too, as we expand our global connections, forge partnerships and harness innovation for the greater good of communities in more parts of the world,” Menon says.
