Pat Patel is the Executive Director of Elevandi. Elevandi is set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to foster an open dialogue between the public and private sectors to advance fintech in the digital economy.

Their flagship product is the Singapore FinTech Festival.

👋🏼 How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

I lead a business called Elevandi, which we spun out of a regulator, namely the Monetary Authority of Singapore. In the simplest terms, we connect people and ideas.

I spend my time meeting with industry leaders to gather new ideas and insights and then distill these into new projects and content programs. It's about pushing the current boundaries of the industry forward across the different verticals within financial services.

It's to this end that we host events such as the Singapore FinTech Festival, the world's largest gathering of the global fintech community, which brings together more than 60,000 people from 130 countries to advance industry thinking on topics such as; cross-border payments, sustainable finance, CBDCs, addressing skills gaps in the industry, Responsible AI, open banking, stablecoins, data ecosystems in a Web 3.0 world and others.

🧐 What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

As a former DJ (house parties and small bars), one of my favorite things about my job is curating the soundtrack for our large-scale events. From the music played across the main stages (up to 5,000 capacity stages) to the more small, intimate ones— I like to be involved in all!

🏆 What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

It's difficult to choose as there have been many highlights over the years.

More recently, it's setting up Elevandi. From building the case within the regulator to raising capital, building a team and spinning out of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), all between March 2021 and January 2022. We also delivered a groundbreaking Singapore Fintech Festival, which focused on web3 in November 2021, which was the first fintech event to cover fintech substantially

A more recent personal highlight was being involved in a prep meeting for one of our critical sessions at SFF this year. It was between Anthony Tan, co-founder of Grab and Sonam Wangchuk, an educational reformist who runs his own school in the foothills of the Himalayas.

It was one of the most inspiring and purposeful conversations I've been involved in, where they discussed a new way for entrepreneurs and how we define success.

🔍 What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?‍

Well, it's tough times, and we are in the eye of the storm. Sadly there will be a cull in the startup ecosystem. For me, I've been excited about startups that have a responsible angle to their business model.

With the current rise in innovation in the financial services sector, more and more people have access to amazing financial products. Still, sadly there is a large section that has high debt levels too.

The startups engaging and helping this community by supporting them to get back from the fringes and manage their finances better are the fintech players to watch out for.

It's a long process but a rewarding one.

💼 What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry?

Always push yourself outside of your comfort zone and always continue to learn. And lastly, never compromise your morals and values to achieve success.

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🗣 What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours?

Probably football, comedy shows and music. Having grown up in the UK, these were the staple diets of inspiration and relationships.

🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show?

Ouch, that's tough. I think it would have to be Curb Your Enthusiasm or anything by Ricky Gervais.

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🍨 What's your go-to ice cream flavor?‍

I like them all equally. I have a sweet tooth! If I have to pick, it's probably chocolate chip.