SINGAPORE, [22 May 2026] — As Asia's wealth management sector accelerates its convergence with AI and digital assets, demand for credentialed talent capable of navigating both is outpacing supply. Today, the Global Fintech Institute (GFI) takes a step toward closing that gap, on two fronts.
The Global Fintech Institute has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Rule72 Pte. Ltd. on 12 May 2026, establishing a strategic partnership focused on industry internships for GFI-certified professionals and the listing of Rule72's portfolio fintech startups on FLEX.sg, GFI's career and opportunity platform for charterholders.
Rule72 is a Singapore-based investment holding company focused on next-generation FinTech, Open Finance, AI and Web3 solutions across the Asia Pacific region. The partnership reflects a shared commitment to building credible career pathways for fintech talent, expanding the GFI charterholder pipeline into APAC's frontier-technology investment ecosystem, and translating frontier-technology investment activity into meaningful industry-side opportunities for GFI-certified professionals.
Opening industry internships for CFtA and CFtP candidates
Under the MOU, Rule72 will provide internship positions for GFI-certified candidates during the term of the agreement. The placements are designed for Chartered Fintech Associate (CFtA) holders at entry level and Chartered Fintech Professional (CFtP®) charterholders or candidates at mid-career level, creating a structured pathway from certification to hands-on experience inside Rule72's investment activities and across its portfolio companies.
GFI will promote these opportunities through its charterholder network and the FLEX.sg platform, connecting certified professionals directly with one of the region's most active frontier-technology investment desks. For graduates and mid-career professionals navigating the intersection of asset management, AI and Web3, the pathway offers a credentialed route into a sector reshaping how capital is deployed across APAC.
Listing Rule72's APAC portfolio on FLEX.sg, a two-way pipeline
Beyond direct internships at Rule72, the MOU establishes a two-way integration with FLEX.sg. Rule72 will list its portfolio startup projects and open roles on FLEX.sg, and GFI will promote those opportunities across its certified network. The result is a curated pipeline that connects GFI-certified talent to one of the region's most concentrated portfolios of AI, Web3 and fintech ventures, while giving Rule72 portfolio companies first access to a credentialed talent pool.
This is the part of the partnership that scales beyond a single internship cohort. As Rule72's portfolio expands, FLEX.sg becomes a live channel for GFI charterholders into early-stage fintech companies operating at the frontier of the industry.
Mentorship and advisory access for GFI charterholders
The MOU also opens a mentorship and advisory track. GFI charterholders will be able to engage with Rule72 leadership and portfolio company founders for advisory conversations, mentorship sessions, and selective project work. This provides charterholders with practical, practitioner-led exposure beyond the certification curriculum, drawing directly from active investors and operators across asset management, AI and Web3.
Co-hosted events and industry dialogue
Rule72 and GFI will collaborate on co-hosted events, industry dialogues, and joint thought leadership across the AI, asset management and Web3 frontier. This includes invitations for Rule72 leadership and portfolio founders to participate in GFI events, and reciprocal participation by GFI representatives in Rule72-convened sessions, with the intent of broadening the conversation across the practitioner community.
Hui Yi Ho on the partnership
Ho Hui Yi, Chief Strategy Officer at the Global Fintech Institute, said the collaboration reflects a shared commitment to building credible talent pathways into the parts of the industry where AI, asset management and Web3 are converging fastest.
“What makes this partnership meaningful is the breadth of what it opens up for GFI-certified professionals. Rule72 sits at the intersection of asset management, AI and Web3, and the talent gap in that intersection is real. Internships at Rule72 are valuable on their own, but pairing these with portfolio startup listings on FLEX.sg, mentorship access, and co-hosted industry dialogue means we are giving GFI charterholders a sustained set of touchpoints into one of APAC’s most active frontier-technology investment ecosystems. That is the kind of integrated, practitioner-led collaboration GFI is built for.”
Michael H. Conn, Chairman, CEO and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Rule72, commented:
“Rule72 was built around the conviction that the convergence of AI and Web3 is rewiring asset and private wealth management, and the institutions connecting capital to that shift need a credentialed talent layer to remain relevant. Partnering with the Global Fintech Institute is one way we contribute to building it. Through this MOU, GFI charterholders gain a direct route into Rule72's investment and advisory activities and into our APAC and Global portfolio companies via FLEX.sg, alongside mentorship access from operators actively deploying capital in this space. That combination, structured certification on one side and live investment exposure on the other, is what the next generation of asset and wealth managers will need.”
Strengthening the bridge between professional standards and frontier technology
This MOU represents a shared intent to collaborate in good faith, raise professional standards across asset and wealth management, and support responsible innovation at the frontier of AI, Web3 and FinTech investment. By combining Rule72's investment expertise and APAC portfolio with GFI's certification mandate and the FLEX.sg platform, both organisations aim to close the credentialed-talent gap in one of the region's fastest-evolving sectors.
Talent Certification
GFI's core programmes, the Chartered Fintech Professional (CFtP®) and Chartered Fintech Associate (CFtA) certifications, equip professionals with the essential skills needed to navigate industry change and adapt to the rapidly evolving fintech landscape.
For collaboration enquiries or to explore CFtP® certification for your organization, please contact: [email protected], CC: [email protected]
About Rule72
Rule72 Pte. Ltd. is a Singapore-based next-generation technology investment company focused on AI, advanced FinTech, Open Finance and Web3 solutions across the Asia Pacific region. Operating originally as a permanent capital vehicle and now expanded into multiple ways of adding value to its shareholders and investors, Rule72 aims to foster the creation of an open and interoperable financial network. The team sees significant opportunity at the intersection of AI and Web3, and is focused on developing and enhancing the accretive potential of these technologies regionally and globally.
Rule72 was co-founded by Michael H. Conn (Chairman, CEO and Co-Chief Investment Officer) and Dr. Amrit Kumar (Co-Chief Investment Officer and Director). The firm is supported by a board and advisory bench that includes Rumi Morales (Partner and Board Member at Outlier Ventures) and Professor David Lee Kuo Chuen (Chairman of GFI and Professor of Blockchain at Singapore University of Social Sciences), among others.