KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 18): CIMB Bank Bhd and Multimedia Development Corp (MDeC) has awarded four groups of winners from the InnoChallenge 2015 the chance to develop financial technology (fintech) applications as part of the bank's effort to tap into digital and mobile banking solutions in the Asean region.

Launched in May 2015, InnoChallenge is an incubation programme aimed at ideation and conceptualisation of new fintech solutions, where participants are mentored by both parties with the aim of fostering entrepreneurship and creating new fintech ventures.

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd chief executive officer (CEO) of group consumer banking Renzo Viegas said the bank is in the midst of commercialisation and detailed technical discussions with the winners to bring their winning applications to its customers in the country as well as the Asean region.

MDeC CEO Datuk Yasmin Mahmood said MDeC will continue to work with strategic industry partners in providing competitive platforms to spur innovation.

"We also hope these successful talents will inspire other Malaysians to contribute towards an inclusive digital economy," Yasmin added.

CIMB group chief information and operations officer Iswaraan Suppiah said based on the success of the first cohort of InnoChallenge, the bank is now in the works of pursuing the second cohort, searching for start-ups and early stage fintech companies.

"[This will be done by] collaborating with regional and global partners using Blockchain technology that will further build InnoChallenge," he added.

Prizes offered by InnoChallenge include RM25,000 for the grand prize winner and RM5,000 for the consolation prize winners.

A wealth management platform developer nabbed the grand prize, while consolation prizes were awarded to developers under the categories of SoLoMo (social, local and mobile), social marketplace and bills payment solutions.

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