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Manulife Financial Launches Hackathon in New Toronto-based LOFT Lab

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Manulife Financial has officially launched a new innovation lab at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto called Lab of Forward Thinking ("LOFT"). The launch of Toronto's LOFT is being celebrated by a two-day hackathon (Dec 1-2) involving Manulife employees and outside participants. The hackathon is called "Unleash Toronto."

LOFT Labs Toronto were created from a partnership that Manulife made with MaRS earlier in 2015 alongside other financial services firms, including PayPal, Facebook, Interac, CIBC, TMX and Ugo. This partnership created a sizeable FinTech cluster, which is designed to connect startups with bigger companies and expose them to a wider client base and potential investors.

The Unleash Toronto hackathon will see participants pitch, build and refine new business offerings and/or products and services that answer the following question:

"How might we help customers redefine and reimagine what it means to invest with Manulife through the use of new business models, channels technology?"

The design of the hackathon follows the methodology developed by Scramble Systems. The company designs programs that help businesses discover hidden talent and opportunities from their own employee base to drive innovation and growth.

The First Place team will receive $10,000 cash, and the top 3 teams will receive an exclusive networking dinner with Manulife Executives.

 

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