The Asian Financial Leaders Scheme (AFLS) is a leadership development initiative set up to facilitate the development of talent and other infrastructure for Singapore's financial centre. Through co-funding for Singaporeans, AFLS seeks to encourage the financial industry to develop its pool of future leaders, by sending them on eligible leadership programmes that would provide the knowledge to navigate the diverse business, regulatory, and legal environment in the region.

Under AFLS, the FSDF will co-fund qualifying costs incurred by financial institutions that send their mid-level professionals or senior leaders to eligible leadership programmes.

• Eligible claimants: Financial Institutions based in Singapore ^[1]
• Eligible participants: Promising incumbent staff whom the sponsoring entities are keen to groom as future leaders. Only Singapore citizens will be supported. Details on the eligible participants for the respective leadership programmes are as follows:

	Programmes for senior leaders	Programmes for mid-level professionals
Eligible participants  (Only Singapore citizens will be supported)	Senior professionals of financial institutions who - Are at least MD and above seniority (usually with more than 15 years of related work experience) and in leadership roles that undertake executive decisions; and - Have the potential to progress to even more senior leadership roles.	Mid-level professionals of financial institutions who  - Are at least SVP/Director seniority (usually with 8 to 15 years of related work experience); and - Have the potential to progress to senior leadership roles (MD & above) with closer proximity (i.e., fewer hierarchical layers) to the CEO compared to the current role.
Eligible leadership programmes	1.Asian Financial Leaders Programme (AFLP) by Human Capital Leadership Institute (HCLI) and Singapore Management University (SMU) 2. (To be launched in 2025)	1. (To be launched in 2025)

 

Details of the funding support are as follows: 

Completion Date	Between 1 July 2023 and 31 December 2024	Between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2028
Funding level of qualifying costs	75% of eligible leadership programme fees (exclude airfare, accommodation, absentee payroll and allowances) for eligible participants.	50% of eligible leadership programme fees (exclude airfare, accommodation, absentee payroll and allowances) for eligible participants.
Funding cap	S$35,000 per participant	S$25,000 per participant

 

An individual may be funded under AFLS for a programme targeted at mid-level professionals, and again when the individual progresses to a more senior level for the programme targeted at senior leaders. However, the individual should not be funded more than once for programmes targeted at the same seniority level as the incremental skills acquisition may be marginal. 

Subject to the fulfilment of all eligibility criteria, funding for approved claims will be disbursed on a reimbursement basis, after the participant's successful completion of the programme and upon verification of the invoice issued by the programme provider.

There are 2 claim cycles per calendar year. Each sponsoring financial institution should submit one claim form for all eligible programme participants per qualifying period. Claims are to be compiled and submitted based on the timelines below:

Claim cycle	Qualifying period	Submission period
1	Programmes completed from January to June	July to September of the same calendar year
2	Programmes completed from July to December	January to March of the next calendar year

Each claim submission should be accompanied by relevant supporting documents:

1. Claim form duly completed and signed by the Head of Human Resources and Head of Internal Audit (or Head of Compliance in the absence of Internal Audit Department);
2. Invoice issued by the programme provider; and
3. Certificate of completion.

For payments in foreign currencies, exchange conversion will be computed based on IBF’s internal reference rate. 

To find out more about the claims process, or to receive the prescribed forms, please contact us.