Syfe, Universal Pensions and Quipu have been named winners of the 2025 Global Impact Champions Awards for Financial Health at the Singapore Fintech Festival.
The Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), together with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, selected the three startups from a pool of 130 applicants across 39 countries.
About half of the applicants were venture-backed fintech firms. Fifteen finalists competed for an investment pool of US$1 million, backed by ThinKuvate and Tenity.
The awards were created to highlight solutions that help people manage money more effectively, build resilience during financial shocks and plan for long-term stability.
GFTN developed the initiative to encourage founders working on financial health challenges and to connect them with investors, policymakers and financial institutions.
Syfe, based in Singapore, offers savings and investment tools aimed at helping individuals manage and grow their finances.
Its platform includes cash management and brokerage services, alongside advisory features and financial literacy support designed for first-time and retail investors.
Syfe recently extended its Series C round with an additional US$80 million, bringing its total funding to US$132 million and signalling a higher valuation and regional expansion.
According to the latest Fintech in ASEAN 2025 report, Syfe’s raise was also among the top five fintech funding rounds in ASEAN-6 this year.
The company also recently acquired Selfwealth, an online investment platform in Australia, in a A$65 million (S$54.5 million) all-cash deal to increase its user base in that country.
Universal Pensions, operating in Singapore and India and formerly known as pinBox Solutions, builds digital pension systems for informal and low-income workers in emerging markets.
Its model includes a gift-a-pension feature that allows families or community members to help workers begin saving, supported by government partnerships that expand access to portable retirement accounts.
Colombia’s Quipu uses AI and alternative data to help micro and small entrepreneurs in the informal economy access credit.
The company analyses transaction patterns and social interactions to generate financial insights that improve cash-flow stability and resilience during business disruptions, helping business owners build credit histories and participate in formal financial systems.
Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health and Chair of the GFTN International Advisory Board, said,
“The Global Impact Champions Awards for Financial Health highlight the fintech solutions that truly make a difference — those that help people manage their money, build resilience, and plan for the future.
I commend the Global Finance & Technology Network and its partners for this initiative in advancing a vision of innovation that serves financial health worldwide.”
Neil Parekh, Deputy Chairman of the GFTN Board, added,
“Today, 1.4 billion adults around the world remain unbanked, and half of adults in low- and middle-income economies cannot meet unexpected financial needs from their own resources. These are the gaps traditional financial systems have yet to bridge.
But startups are showing us what’s possible. They are the building blocks of a financially healthy world, using technology with agility, empathy, and purpose.”
The three winners will take part in GFTN’s international events and gain access to investment opportunities.
The initiative aims to support scalable models that advance financial health and inclusion worldwide.
