Over the course of one week 18 fintech start-ups came together in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to think, learn and innovate new solutions that better serve the needs of low- and middle-income people in Malaysia. Find out more: https://www.uncdf.org/finlab

They learnt about and applied user-centred design tools and worked with our mentors and partners from Bank Negara and MDEC amongst other companies. There are 15 million people in Malaysia who are financially vulnerable, an unexpected cost might spell financial disaster for them, but they aspire to more. They want to build businesses, invest in their children’s education, and prepare for their old age. To do so they need digital financial services built to fulfil their needs and preferences.

Financial Innovation Lab Malaysia, funded by the MetLife Foundation, is running the B40 Challenge to find solutions that could drive usage of financial services by low- and middle-income customers in Malaysia (or the B40 population) beyond access to bank accounts.