Besides being a great hardware hub, Hong Kong’s strength lies in its age old reputation as a financial center.
Homegrown FinTech startups have seen much success, with trading platform 8 Securities raising US $8 million back in 2012 and opening an office in Japan this year, and data analytics company DemystData who has opened a NYC office and raising a subsequent US $5 million.
Wanting to further harness the our city’s talent pool and resources, Accenture has teamed up with 10 top financial institutions such as HSBC, UBS and Morgan Stanley to create an accelerator program called the FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific. The 12-week program will be housed at our own Cyberport, and will be for startups developing disruptive tech in the areas of Big Data, Analytics, Payments, Risk Management, Security, Compliance, Social Media, Mobile and Payments. See the full list of partners here.
Here’s how it works: after the application process ends, banking execs will choose just seven startups for the accelerator and will also act as mentors throughout workshops, panel discussions and networking opportunities. While Cyberport provides the office space, Airbnb offers up accommodations. At the end of 12-week program, startups will demo their tech at an Investor Day presentation in front of financial industry execs and potential investors.
“Hong Kong’s role as a regional hub for the banking industry and the gateway for China investment made it an ideal location to launch our new Asia-Pacific Lab,” said Sushil Saluja, senior managing director of Accenture Asia-Pacific. “By fostering the development of the next generation of financial technology companies, the Lab will further strengthen Hong Kong’s status as one of the world’s leading financial capitals.”
The FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific was first co-founded by Accenture and the Partnership Fund for NYC back in 2010, where 18 alumni startups have raised more than $76 million in funds after participating in the program (one company was even acquired for $175 million). The accelerator model was then brought to London in 2012.
The deadline for applications is July 31st, let’s go Hong Kong FinTech!
Apply for FinTech Innovation Lab here.
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