Want a career in fintech? You need empathy and ability to withstand adversity
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Empathy fosters better design thinking skills, giving individuals a competitive edge in producing solutions, experts say.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Clay Lim
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SINGAPORE - Empathy and the ability to withstand adversity are key skills that young people need in order to pursue a career in financial technology (fintech).
At an inaugural event for youth and fintech, experts in the industry noted that in a people-centred sector such as fintech, a sense of empathy is important in order to understand the problems people face that require solutions.
Empathy fosters better design thinking skills, giving individuals a competitive edge in producing solutions, they said.
Speaking at the event held at NTUC Centre on Tuesday, Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), said: “To develop empathy, start reading about the issues happening around the world. If you are able to develop solutions for these issues, it would be a very meaningful way to spend your career.”
Some 400 tertiary students heard such advice, through panel discussions and exhibitions, at the inaugural FinTech Day: Empowering Youths, jointly organised by the Singapore FinTech Youth Chapter (SFYC), MAS and the Banking and Financial Services Union. SFYC is the youth arm of the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA).
SFA president Shadab Taiyabi also emphasised the importance of empathy, saying: “Build empathy by understanding what others are going through, then you’ll be able to devise solutions and solve their problems.”
At another panel discussion, Ms Sng Khai Lin, co-founder and chief investment officer at Alta Exchange, said having a high adversity quotient is also a key skill, especially in fintech entrepreneurship.
She said: “You should have a panel of mentors to tap, to develop a high adversity quotient. This is necessary as there are many setbacks for a new company, and it is important to know how to overcome these obstacles.”
Creative thinking, adaptability and technical skills focused on analytical thinking and finance were other skills highlighted.
One of the event’s participants, Mr Saatvik Manyak Agrawal, 19, an engineering science student from NUS College, said: “It was a journey of discovery for me, revealing how engineers can make unique contributions in the fintech sphere, starting with a solid foundation of technical skills.”
This focus on youth breaking into the fintech sector comes as Singapore’s fintech funding hit a three-year high in 2022.
According to the FinTech Talent Report 2022 by SFA and Accenture, the fintech sector in Singapore attracted investments of close to US$4.1 billion (S$5.53 billion) in 2022. This was a US$700 million increase from US$3.4 billion in 2021.
(From left) Singapore FinTech Association president Shadab Taiyabi, Singapore FinTech Youth Chapter president Bryan Lim, NTUC deputy secretary-general Desmond Tan, MAS chief fintech officer Sopnendu Mohanty and Banking and Financial Services Union first vice-president Sim Cheng Huat.
PHOTO: HANNAH LIM HWEE EN
The majority of financial technology companies expect that sector growth will continue, increasing the demand for talent.
Mr Taiyabi said: “There is no bigger asset than today’s youth, and the fintech ecosystem will need to continue working with educators to prepare young talent for future workforce needs and foster the early building of technology basics.”
Beyond FinTech Day, SFA is working with institutes of higher learning to provide fintech programmes and run fintech foundational courses. In future, SFA plans on working with secondary school students and introducing them to fintech courses.
