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Webinar Synopsis

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Webinar Presentation

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Overview

Fintech is an umbrella term that covers marketplace lending platforms, crowdfunding, payments technologies, robo advisory, and cryptocurrency providers. The sustainability implications are therefore varied too, including companies that leverage big data to provide data and advisory on environmental dimensions, crowdfunding platforms for impact projects, and payment and marketplace lending firms improving financial inclusion and access.

In this recorded webinar, we looked at a few business models and practices of fintech firms that contribute positively to sustainability. We also looked at the challenges when it comes to continuing innovation, and evolving opportunities in this area. In addition, we discussed how regulators and policymakers are encouraging fintech in sustainability, and additional steps that are needed.

Speakers:

  • Abhilasha Purwar, founder and chief executive officer, Blue Sky Analytics
  • Dr. Jacky Tang, managing director and chief investment officer, portfolio management group, Goldman Sachs (Asia)
  • Jason Tu, chief executive officer and co-founder, MioTech
  • Deal Wilson, chief of staff and head of sales, ESGTech
  • Shih Shen Wong, country manager (APAC), Planet

Moderator:

  • Sivananth Ramachandran, CFA, director of capital market policy, India, CFA Institute

Duration: 1hr 30mins

Recorded on 25 August 2022

Speakers

Abhilasha Purwar
Abhilasha Purwar

Abhilasha is the Founder and CEO of Blue Sky Analytics, a Climate-Tech start-up using satellite data and AI to build environmental monitoring and climate-risk data products. She is a Fulbright scholar, Yale and IIT alum with over ten years of work experience in private equity, business development, product development and environmental policy.

She began her career as a Research Associate at J-PAL, working on air pollution regulation with the Ministry of Environment, India. After her Masters in Environmental Management from Yale, she worked at pay-as-you-go solar home system startup PEG Africa as a data manager, and GoldenSet Capital on executing sustainable infrastructure investments of over $150 million.

In 2018, Abhilasha returned to India to build Blue Sky Analytics with her core belief that “data can enable and change an entire ecosystem". She deems Blue Sky as a focal point of enabling global climate action with high quality, high resolution accessible environmental and climate intelligence to various global stakeholders from large asset managers, to insurance providers to journalists and policymakers. Abhilasha believes that the day, data on pollution in a lake or emissions from a power plant, both far away from human settlements is made available to human beings on their smartphones in a user-friendly manner, would be the start of revolution on climate action.

Sivananth Ramachandran
Sivananth Ramachandran CFA, CIPM

Sivananth "Siva" Ramachandran, CFA, is the Director of Capital Markets Policy, India at CFA Institute. In his role, he is responsible for advocating policy positions on issues that impact Indian capital markets, including corporate governance, ESG, and financial reporting, to name a few. Siva was part of a SEBI working group that reviewed the related party transaction regulations. He is frequently quoted in media. Siva has nearly 13 years of experience in financial services. Prior to joining the CFA Institute, he spent five years at Morningstar, and led their global index product development team. He also served as a spokesperson for sustainability at Morningstar India. Prior to his time at Morningstar, Siva spent nearly five years at MSCI where he co-authored research papers on small cap investing, portfolio construction, and economic exposure. Siva has an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow. He also holds the chartered financial analyst (CFA) and professional risk management (PRM) designations, and the fundamentals of sustainability accounting (FSA) credential provided by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).

Jacky Tang
Jacky Tang PhD

Jacky Tang is the managing director and the chief investment officer for Goldman Sachs Portfolio Management Group in Asia Pacific. He also heads up the Portfolio Advisory Group, the Investment Strategy Group, and the Sustainable Solutions Group for Goldman Sachs Consumer and Wealth Management Division in Asia. He is responsible for centralized discretionary portfolio management for ultra-high net worth and institutional clients across Asia Pacific. Jacky is also responsible for advising clients on strategic asset allocation, tactical investment strategies, and ESG investment solutions. He has served as the co-chair of the Asia PWM Sustainability Council and PWM Content Council since 2017. Previously, Jacky spent two years as a macro strategist in the Investment Strategy Group, covering Asia Pacific economics and macro strategy. Dr. Jacky Tang Mr. Richard Mak Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Jacky worked at Credit Suisse, where he was head of Greater China Equity Research. Prior to that, he was head of Hong Kong Equity Strategy at Merrill Lynch. Earlier in his career, Jacky worked as an investment strategist at Brevan Howard Asset Management, managing an emerging markets hedge fund. Jacky has served as an adjunct professor for the City University of Hong Kong’s department of Economics and Finance and has led a number of workshops in behavioral finance, sustainable finance, financial markets, asset allocation and portfolio management. He also served as the masters dissertation supervisor on sustainable finance for the University of Cambridge. Jacky earned a PhD in Economics from the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and a master’s degree in Sustainability Leadership from the University of Cambridge.

Jason Tu
Jason Tu

Jason is a technology and sustainability expert with an MBA from Stanford and previous work experience at Standard Chartered Bank, WeLab, and Robinhood. He, representing MioTech, is a member of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association and the Director of the Alliance of Carbon Emissions Trading in China. He has been invited to speak at world-renowned conferences such as at IOSCO and at UNEP FI to address the role of technology in the global sustainability push.

Dael Wilson
Dael Wilson

After nearly a decade in Finance, Dael pivoted into technology and pursued her passion to drive sustainability culture within business. Dael sought certification in Business Sustainability Management at the University of Cambridge's Institute for Sustainability Leadership and holds a Certificate in ESG Investing issued by the CFA Institute. She also holds an FSA Credential issued by SASB, a Master of Applied Finance, a Bachelor of Applied Finance and a Bachelor of Commerce-Accounting.
Dael is presently Chief of Staff and Head of Sales at ESGTech where she engages all functions to ensure that company strategy and governance is maintained across the organisation.

Shih Shen Wong
Shih Shen Wong

Shih Shen Wong is the Country Manager(SEA) with Planet. He is responsible for all customer facing sales activities in the South East Asia Region and has more than 20 years of sales, marketing, IT consulting and customer success experience in prior roles with Microsoft, Protiviti, PayPal and HP.
Shih Shen holds a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Adelaide and an Electrical Engineering degree from the National University of Singapore.

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