Hong Kong fintech - Canadian Technology Accelerator

Hong Kong is one of the world’s leading international financial centres, the 3rd largest after New York and London according to the latest rankings of the Global Financial Centres Index.

Hong Kong is also the Asia-Pacific headquarters for many of the large banks, insurances, and asset managers due to its light regulation and strong rule of law.

The Hong Kong government has made efforts to increase the competitiveness of the city’s financial sector by issuing new digital bank and insurance licenses. Along with a proliferation of new technologies making financial services more efficient (artificial intelligence/machine learning/blockchain etc.), traditional banks, insurers, and asset managers are looking to collaborate with financial technology (FinTech) companies to keep up and stay competitive.

This presents an attractive opportunity for Canadian technology providers.

The Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) program in Hong Kong aims to help Canadian FinTech businesses navigate the market and to connect with potential partners, buyers, and investors.

Important dates

What are the benefits of joining?

The Hong Kong CTA will give you: 

• market briefings on doing business in Hong Kong
• input from leading experts in Hong Kong’s fintech ecosystem
• access to corporate buyers and investors
• networking with other fintech companies in Hong Kong and Canada exploring business opportunities in Asia
• a deeper understanding of the commercial opportunities for your technology in the market
• guidance on entering and navigating the market
• an opportunity to present to and be noticed by strategic partners, potential buyers and investors

Who should apply

We are looking for high-potential Canadian fintech companies that can add value to different parts of the financial services value chain. Companies must be interested in expanding into Asia with their end users being:

• banks
• insurances
• asset/wealth management firms
• regulators
• exchanges

Companies should have:

• raised a round of funding from institutional investors
• existing market traction – ideally companies that already have sold to customers in North America or Europe
• a passionate, strong and committed management team with at least one senior manager (C-level or founder) who can commit to participating in the entire program 

The Trade Commissioner Service supports equity, diversity and inclusion in trade. We strongly encourage companies led by Canadians of all backgrounds to apply.

How the Program Works

Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the Hong Kong CTA program will be presented in a virtual format. It will include:

• virtual market insights webinars on every two weeks
• targeted business-to-business (B2B) meetings and networking opportunities with potential local partners, investors and clients
• mentorship sessions offering tailored one-on-one to help refine/validate your market entry strategy (upon request)

Program highlights

* Program subjected to last minute changes 

November 2022 – Introduction

• Week 1: Participate in Hong Kong Fintech Week either virtually or in-person
• Week 3: Virtual meet and greet to connect with other companies participating in the Hong Kong CTA
• Week 4: Webinar on the Hong Kong/Asia Fintech Ecosystem opportunities and challenges, delivered by InvestHK, Hong Kong’s inward investment agency’s Head of Fintech (confirmed) 

December 2022 – Financial Institutions adopting tech

• Week 1: Webinar on banks adopting tech – Standard Chartered, a global leading retail and Corporate bank in Honk Kong, to discuss their interests in fintech, and how they work with fintechs (Confirmed)
• Week 3-4: Pause for the holidays 

January 2023 – Financial institutions adopting technology

• Week 2: Webinar on insurance companies adopting tech – SCOR, the 4^th largest re-insurer in the world, to discuss their interest in insurtech, healthtech, and digital health, and how they work with insurtechs (Confirmed)
• Week 3: Webinar on fundraising in Hong Kong/Asia – AngelHub is a platform that connects professional investors in Hong Kong and Asia to invest in vetted start-ups that are expanding in Asia. It is the 1st platform to obtain license from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the financial regulating body of Hong Kong (Confirmed)
• Week 4: Pause for Chinese New Year 

February 2023 – Demo Day

• Week 2: Webinar with a large asset manager in Hong Kong to discusses their interest in wealth tech, and how they work with wealth tech start-ups (Speaker TBC)
• Week 3: Demo day - Participating companies will pitch their solutions to key players within the Hong Kong fintech ecosystem including buyers, financial institutions, investors, and partners 

March 2023 – Wrap up

Contact us

Learn more about the CTA Hong Kong by contacting:

Richard Fong
Trade Commissioner
Canadian Technology Accelerator — Hong Kong
Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service
Richard.Fong@international.gc.ca