AIA Insurance hosts industry’s first-ever hackathon for local, intl. IT firms and start-ups

Calling all fintech and insurtech companies! Sri Lanka’s Best Life Insurance Company (awarded by Global Banking and Finance Review for 2019 and 2020), AIA Insurance kicked off the ‘AIA Sri Lanka Hackathon Challenge 2021’ recently.

Both local and international technology companies and start-ups are invited to submit their proposals before 19 September to stand a chance to win a total cash prize of $ 5,000 and be given an opportunity to pioneer industry transforming solutions by being a part of AIA’s Technology, Digital and Analytics (TDA) journey. 

The Sri Lankan insurance industry’s first of its kind hackathon is hosted by AIA Insurance Lanka Ltd., in partnership with the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN), a social impact initiative backed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the ASEAN Bankers Association (ABA). The event will be hosted on the API Exchange (APIX) platform – an initiative under AFIN and the world’s first cross-border, open architecture API marketplace and sandbox platform for collaboration between fintechs and financial institutions.

Participants will go head-to-head in identifying solutions to the two categories of problem statements available in the challenge, ‘E-KYC and Smart OCR’ and ‘Gamification based Customer Recommendation’. Ten finalists will then battle it out in an eight-week POC phase to bring their solution to life before the two winners are announced on 6 December 2021 at the AIA Demo Day. 

The two winners will be awarded commendation plaques, a chance at winning a total cash prize of $ 5,000 and more importantly, the opportunity to work with AIA Sri Lanka to implement their solution.

AIA Sri Lanka Chief Executive Officer Nikhil Advani said, “At AIA we are transforming the life insurance industry in Sri Lanka through our promise of helping our customers, employees and the communities that we serve to live healthier, longer, better lives. With innovations like the introduction of telemedicine services and other app based unique health and wellness offerings to our customers, implementing robotic automation processes and offering advanced payment systems and solutions, AIA is truly ahead of the competition in terms of technological innovation. 

“With the ‘AIA Sri Lanka Hackathon Challenge 2021’ not only do we shine the spot light on deserving fintech and insurtech companies for their innovative solutions but it also allows us to implement better solutions and make improvements in our processes, which translates to our customers being able to enjoy a superior service experience.”

AIA Sri Lanka Director IT and Chief Technology Officer Umeshi de Fonseka added, “We are proud to be able to introduce yet another industry-first initiative that will not only help AIA Sri Lanka to find solutions to provide a superior and efficient service to our customers, but will also help fintech and insurtech companies to implement their amazing solutions as part of our transformation journey in embracing emerging technologies. 

“Despite most companies struggling due to the challenges brought about by the pandemic, AIA Sri Lanka continued to innovate across multiple disciplines and was able drive sustainable growth to cater to the evolving needs of our customers. The ‘AIA Sri Lanka Hackathon Challenge 2021’ is a reflection of our continued commitment to laying the foundation towards building a more digitised and stable organisation that continues to lead from the front. 

“Digital technology has evolved to be a significant enabler in closing gaps in access to finance. The on-going global pandemic has made digital financial services even more relevant. At IFC, we are committed in promoting financial inclusion through new and innovative solutions in the emerging markets,” said IFC Sri Lanka and Maldives Acting Country Manager Victor Antonypillai. “We are happy to partner with AIA for their ‘AIA Sri Lanka Hackathon Challenge 2021’ on the APIX platform, that brings together technology and financial institutions to accelerate digital transformation—while helping to create a resilient, inclusive and a sustainable financial sector in Sri Lanka.”

Sharing his thoughts Monetary Authority of Singapore Chief Fintech Officer Sopnendu Mohanty said, “Insurance sector innovation is key to sustainable and inclusive financial services. The industry needs transformation in all three areas of its life cycle: manufacturing, distribution and processing. In partnership with APIX and IFC, the ‘AIA Sri Lanka Hackathon Challenge 2021’ is a significant step forward to accelerate the transformation process and bring best-in-class ideas quickly to production in Sri Lanka.”

For information and to register, visit https://hackolosseum.apixplatform.com/hackathon/aiasrilanka or call Krishanth on 0774899168.