Students Yen May Lee and Jie Si Yee from Malaysia, have won the ASEAN Data Science Explorers 2023, the flagship program of the ASEAN Foundation in collaboration with SAP. The two students at the University of Nottingham, Malaysia, proposed the MoneyMentor solution, a financial application designed for the unbanked in rural areas.
Their solution stems from the fact that as many as 42 percent of the population in ASEAN is still classified as unbanked (World Bank 2022), who do not have access to traditional financial services, and most are in rural areas. Low financial inclusion will correlate with low GDP per capita, which will threaten sustainable work and economic health in ASEAN. The MoneyMentor app said to be designed to empower rural unbanked people with financial literacy and the adoption of financial services through three solutions: optimized savings, smart budgeting, and personalized loans.
“This app will help individuals develop the skills they need to access, understand, and use digital financial services,” said Yen May Lee and Jie Si Yee.
During their presentation at the Regional Finals, the Team proposed MoneyMentor’s first year plan, which is to make its initial entry into Malaysia and Indonesia, establishing local and international strategic partnership. The proposal involves commencing operations within the regulatory framework of the respective countries and collaborating with various entities, including banks, non-banks financial institution and telecommunication companies.
For its business continuity, the students intend to secure five revenue streams from banks, non-bank financial institutions, insurance & takaful providers, investment banks, and user investment platform fees. They will be working with SAP to support the integration of the applications API and AI infrastructure with two platforms, namely SAP Business Technology Platform, which has a series of features such as advanced analytics, cloud application development and much more.
“The Data Science Explorers (DSE) program focuses on data analysis and problem-solving to generate solutions for society. The program includes capacity building, people-to-people networking, and opportunities to learn business models from the business community said Dr. Piti Srisangnam, Executive Director of the ASEAN Foundation.
This competition was initiated by the ASEAN Foundation and SAP in 2017 and has empowered more than 71,000 students in Southeast Asia, from high school to college. SAP has collaborated with over 3,000 educators, 852 higher education and learning institutions across Asia, 228 secondary schools, and 149 NGOs.
