The UN Capital Development Fund is pleased to announce the five winners of the Pacific Islands Fintech Innovation Challenge that concluded in Singapore on Friday, 29th July.

The following companies emerged victorious after three days of brainstorming, co-creating and pitching;

1. Global Psytech Sdn. Nhd from Malaysia – Problem statement 1 (Implementing partners – TDB in Tonga and NBS in Samoa)
2. IT Galax Solutions Pte Ltd from Fiji – Problem statement 2 (Implementing partner – FDB in Fiji)
3. YABX from India – Problem statement 3 (Implementing partner – SINPF in Solomon Islands)
4. MHITS Limited from Ausrtralia – Problem statement 4 (Implementing partner – Vodafone in Fiji)
5. Windcave from Australia - Problem statement 5 (Implementing partner – HFC in Fiji and NBS in Samoa)

The winning fintechs will collaborate with implementing partners to test and deploy their digital solutions over the next 9-12 months.

UNCDF Regional Manager Pacific, Bram Peters, said: “we’re pleased with the outcome of the fintech challenge. The 3-day event saw multiple stakeholders engage on key topics around access to finance and financial inclusion; I am confident that these collaborations will greatly benefit the Pacific people and their institutions. Congratulations to all the winners.”

The Challenge is an initiative of the UNCDF's Pacific Digital Economy Programme (PDEP) and was held in collaboration with the Market Development Facility (MDF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

PDEP is built on the success of the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme's (PFIP) long-term work on developing digital finance ecosystems in the region. The Programme is implemented by UNCDF, UNDP and UNCTAD, with support from the Government of Australia.