SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LumenLab, MetLife’s Singapore-based innovation center, today announced that it has selected 6 finalists for its startup engagement program, collab 2.0, an open innovation platform matching startups with the right opportunities within MetLife Japan.
collab 2.0, launched in August 2017, aims to provide a platform for innovators to tackle the business needs of tomorrow and to work on solutions to known challenges in the areas of customer engagement, sales, backend operations, and frontend operations.
collab 2.0 attracted over 111 applications from 24 countries around the world. Following a rigorous application review process, 6 startup applicants have been selected to pitch their business ideas to senior MetLife executives at the demo day on 8 December 2017.
Zia Zaman, LumenLab CEO and Chief Innovation Officer of MetLife Asia said, “We’re delighted with the ongoing strong response to our collab program from start-ups around the world. The quality and caliber of the submissions was very high. Our finalists represent the best in creativity and innovation, and brought fresh thinking to address the evolving needs of the insurance customer. We look forward to working with them over the coming months.”
The 6 startup finalists are Concierge U, Gnowbe, Moneytree, Montoux, TrustSphere, and WorkFusion. The strong final line up showcases an exciting mix of ideas and technological solutions ranging from artificial intelligence (AI), predictive analytics, to robotics process automation (RPA).
Over the next 2 months, the finalists will receive assistance from MetLife Japan “staff champions”. MetLife Japan has assigned over 25 “staff champions” to assist the finalists, underscoring its commitment to talent development as it promotes a culture of innovation in the workplace.
LumenLab will host the collab 2.0 demo day on 8 December 2017 in Tokyo. The judging panel will comprise nine senior executives from MetLife Japan and LumenLab. The successful finalist will receive a JPY 10 million contract to implement a pilot within MetLife Japan.
For more information on collab 2.0 and the 6 finalists, visit http://collab.lumenlab.sg/#finalists.
* This amount equates to approx..US$88,775 based on the FX rate of 1USD:JPY112.64 as at 04Oct2017
About MetLife
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the world’s leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help its individual and institutional customers navigate their changing world. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.
About MetLife Japan
MetLife started operations in 1973 as the first foreign life insurance company in Japan. Since then, it has provided an innovative and broad range of products through diverse distribution channels to individual and institutional customers. It currently operates as a Japanese corporation, MetLife Insurance K.K. MetLife is committed to providing trusted navigation to help people become more self-reliant and able to pursue more from life. For more information, visit http://www.metlife.co.jp/.
About LumenLab
As MetLife's pioneers for disruptive innovation, LumenLab is charging ahead to create new businesses in health, wealth and retirement. Lumen, a measure of light, symbolizes our commitment to illuminating a new path for solving the problems that the people of Asia face today. Through our focus on building new products and services grounded in technology and data, we aim to help people achieve richer and more fulfilling lives. For more information, visit www.lumenlab.sg.
