Join the DBSxINSEAD Product Innovation Challenge

 

Identify and design the ultimate financial product that will propel DBS to its next stage of growth and win a S$10,000 cash prize!

 

Missed the 4 September kickoff? Access the meeting recording and presentation deck here!

Kickoff recording
Kickoff deck

🌟 Innovate, inspire and ignite your career path in the financial industry!

ABOUT DBS

DBS is the largest financial services group in South East Asia – operating across 19 markets. Recognized as the “World’s Best Bank” by Global Finance in 2022, DBS has consistently demonstrated its commitment to transformation and forward-thinking strategies. CEO Piyush Gupta’s vision of a “33,000-person start-up” encapsulates the bank’s agile and innovative approach, setting it apart as a leader in the financial sector.

THE COMPETITION

THE CHALLENGE

DBS would like to invite MBA student teams from INSEAD, NUS, NTU, SMU and ESSEC to create the next big consumer financial product targeted at GenZs/newer segments that would shake up the industry.  

Students can choose from any of the below 3 problem statements:

BACKGROUND

The Consumer Banking Group within DBS operates in 6 main markets: Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, India and China. Within this, the Regional Consumer Products team covers all of the bank’s retail financial products across Deposits, Mortgages, Payments, Credit Cards and Unsecured Lending. Today, the team serves over 14 million customers.

The team is focused on building outstanding businesses, focused on 4 key themes of customer obsession, AI-led transformation, strategic partnerships and a digital led, omni channel distribution strategy. Some recent product innovations from the consumer products team include:

    • DBS green home loans & green car loans,
    • DBS Multiplier savings account that rewards customers for total banking relationships,
    • Instant issuance of virtual credit cards,
    • Card safety and protection features and various spend insights on digibank,
    • Ecosystem lending, partnering with top fintech platforms for small ticket sized loans.
YOUR SUBMISSION
  • Team Up for Success: Form teams of up to 4 students with at least 1 team member present in Singapore for the finals. Members must be current students or have graduated no more than 3 months earlier than the submission date. We welcome participants from ESSEC Singapore, INSEAD, NTU, NUS and SMU. Teams can be mixed or from the same school. Note: Current DBS employees are not eligible. If you’re a DBS employee interested in contributing, please contact us at digital@INSEAD.edu to discuss alternative roles.
  • Showcase Your Creativity: Submit your final presentation in PDF format, with a maximum of 15 slides (+5 appendix). Your submission should include a mock-up of your innovative consumer financial product, covering:
    • Product idea
    • Target customer segment
    • Marketing & distribution strategy
    • Product financials & profitability
    • Why the product is innovative in the market
  • Share: Upload your team details and presentation via this form (link coming soon).
  • Expert Guidance: The top 3 teams will be announced on October 7 and receive exclusive coaching and insights from DBS product experts.
KEY DATES

 

PROBLEM STATEMENT RELEASE 4 September 2024, 1.00 PM SGT
SUBMISSION DEADLINE 29 September 2024, 11.59 PM SGT
TOP 3 ANNOUNCEMENT 7 October 2024
DBS COACHING 8 October – 5 November 2024
FINALS 6 November 2024, 5.00-7.00 PM SGT
EVALUATION METRICS FIRST ROUND

The evaluation metrics for the first round will be as follows:

Product Concept and Design (50%)

  • Clear articulation of the product and the challenge it addresses. (5%)
  • Clear articulation of how the product fits into the current DBS consumer product strategy. (5%)
  • Overall innovativeness of the product (10%)
  • Thoroughly thought-out user journey and understanding of user needs. (15%)
  • Vivid product presentation, including product details, product design (e.g. create either a prototype, mock design, 3D model or anything that can showcase your product) (15%)

Product viability and commercials (50%)

  • Clear articulation of the marketing and distribution strategy. (20%)
  • Clear understanding of how this product variant may vary across DBS markets of Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, India and China. (10%)
  • Clear articulation of how to measure success for the product. (10%)
  • An initial business case and path to profitability for the product. (10%)
AWARD

The winning team will take home S$10.000 as well as a Meet & Greet with Senior DBS executives in Singapore. Second and third place will receive S$2.500. All finalist teams will receive extensive feedback on their project ideas.

RESOURCES

CONTRIBUTORS

Sanjoy Sen

Group Head of Consumer Banking (DBS)

Ananya Sen

Group Head of Regional Consumer Products (DBS)

Ankur Khemka

Regional Head of Unsecured and Ecosystem Lending (DBS)

Samuel Chang

Regional Head of Credit Cards (DBS)

Jamie Chan

Regional Head of Business and Platform Strategy (DBS)

Khai Yang Tan

Regional Lead of Deposits and Secured Lending (DBS)

Lala Wang (MBA’18J)

Executive Director, Regional Consumer Products (DBS)

Noah Askin

Associate Professor of Organization and Management, Paul Merage School of Business (UC-Irvine) & Director, INSEAD Product Leadership Program

Raphael Leiteritz (MBA’04J)

Product Management advisor and co-founder, Peak Product

Ishan Vaidya (MBA’24D)

VP Events TMT Club INSEAD

CONTACT

Have a question about the challenge? Please use the Telegram channel.

For any other inquiries, feel free to email us at: digital@INSEAD.edu