1337 calls on coders, data wizards to join insurtech hackathon

• To work on disrupting current insurance and Takaful industry
• Cirtual session begins Oct 1 to Oct 3; top three to win prizes

1337 Ventures is organising a three-day virutal insurtech hackathon that will be held from Oct 1 to Oct 3, culminating in a demo day at the end of the session.

In a statement, the venture capitalist firm invites all data wizards, coding ninjas and insurtech enthusiasts to disrupt the insurance and takaful industry.

The hackathon brings together innovators and technical partners to work with tech talents from various disciplines and the top three teams will walk away with RM10,000, RM8,000 and RM5,000 respectively, it said.

All participants will receive grab vouchers and a welcome pack which includes a T-shirt and swags.

The firm said there are two tracks for this hackathon: conventional insurance & Takaful.

• Conventional Insurance: A form of risk management, primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss
• Takaful: A co-operative system of reimbursement or repayment in case of loss, organized as an Islamic or shariah compliant alternative to conventional insurance

All participants will learn about the state of the insurance industry, ideate using design thinking, and hack across the three days  to create a prototype that addresses an industry pain points, it said.

There will be office hours and mentoring sessions by 1337 Ventures and FWD, as well as industry partners such as the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), 1337 said.

Participants are welcome to join individually or as a team of two-three persons.

On the first day of the hackathon, all individual participants will be teamed up and they will form a team by selecting the problem statements they resonate with.

“We are looking for people to rethink this legacy industry and dare push its limits via this hackathon.

“Come test some of those wild ideas with us and we would like to see how we could even make it a sustainable business model with our mentors and who knows, maybe it's the next big thing we invest via the accelerator too.” says Bikesh Lakhmichand, chief executive officer and founding partner of 1337 Ventures.

The virtual Insurtech Hackathon is supported by the MDEC and the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) as community partners.

To participate in the Insurtech Hackathon, apply here. For more information visit here. Registration for the hackathon closes on 27th September 2021.  

Participating teams will get greenlane access to join Alpha Startups for Insurtech accelerator program for cohort two, which begins in mid-October 2021.

Registration is open till Oct 1. Validate your Fintech, Insurtech and Takatech start-up idea and gain access to key financial industry players, funding and mentorship support. For more information visit here.