TEKNOFEST Financial Technologies Competition

TEKNOFEST Financial Technologies (FinTech) Competition is a national technology competition organized to support the development of local solutions in the field of financial technologies, in line with Türkiye’s technology-based development program, the National Technology Initiative. The competition aims to contribute to the digital transformation of the financial sector, pave the way for local FinTech startups, and increase the skilled workforce in this field.

The financial sector is one of the areas most intensely affected by digitalization and has recently entered a transformation process through technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, the Internet of Things, and cybersecurity among others. This transformation affects not only individuals’ daily transactions but also countries’ integration into the global financial system and their economic competitiveness. The FinTech Competition under the TEKNOFEST umbrella aims to support young entrepreneurs, engineers, and innovators who will lead this transformation. The competition targets strengthening Türkiye’s financial technology infrastructure through projects developed in areas such as payment services, digital banking, automation systems, and robo-advisory.

^{TEKNOFEST Financial Technologies Competition (Photo: Akif Yusuf Ekin)}

The competition covers various subfields within financial technologies. Participants are expected to develop innovative and applicable projects in these themes:

Payment Services and Technologies Applications: Mobile payment systems, digital wallets, domestic and international money transfer solutions, smart contracts for “buy now pay later” models, offline payment protocols, bill payment tool systems, and data sharing technologies.

Automation and Advisory Technologies in Financial Management: Automated portfolio management and algorithmic trading, robo-advisory and customer support systems, investment advisory powered by sentiment analysis, interactive platforms providing basic financial education.

Banking Technologies Applications: Customer behavior analysis using big data, AI-supported credit and risk assessment, digital banking transition processes, fraud detection systems, open banking API solutions.

Students at the pre-bachelor’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels, as well as individuals who graduated within the last three years, may apply. The competition is conducted in teams of at least two and at most five members. Participants are encouraged to seek guidance from an academic expert or professional during their project development. Each team may designate only one advisor. Advisors are expected to provide support throughout the project process and be present with their team during the final stage. Submitted projects must be original. Projects previously submitted or modified for other competitions may be presented. A single project may be submitted to only one category or competition. Applications will be invalidated if plagiarism is detected.

^{TEKNOFEST Financial Technologies Competition (Photo: Akif Yusuf Ekin)}

The competition consists of three main stages: Preliminary Project Evaluation Report, Project Presentation (online), and Final Stage (in-person presentation and evaluation). All application and documentation procedures are carried out through the Registration Management System (RMS). The team captain and advisor are responsible for monitoring all processes, from submission and report upload to adding or removing team members. Limited travel and accommodation support is provided to teams advancing to the final stage, with a maximum of three members per team eligible for assistance.

The Financial Technologies Competition does not limit its goals to enhancing participants’ technical knowledge and project development skills; it also aims to foster multidimensional competencies such as entrepreneurship, teamwork, problem solving, effective presentation, and communication. This competition holds importance in terms of enhancing Türkiye’s capacity to produce local solutions in financial technologies and plays a strategic role in supporting projects that can contribute to the digital economy vision.