Mentoring will be provided by Accenture, Bank
of America Merrill Lynch, China Construction Bank (Asia), China
Citic Bank International, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Credit
Suisse, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Maybank, Morgan Stanley and UBS
Accenture (NYSE:ACN) and a group of 10 leading financial
institutions today opened the application period for the second
class of the FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific, kicking off a
competitive search for the top financial technology (fintech)
innovators in the region.
The 12-week program helps early- and growth-stage financial
technology innovators accelerate product development and gain
exposure to top-level financial industry executives. Entrepreneurs
developing potentially game-changing technologies for financial
services – particularly in the areas of alternative currencies, Big
Data and analytics, mobile and wireless payments, risk management
and compliance, as well as social media and collaboration
technologies – are invited to apply. Applications will be
accepted through May 31.
Senior executives from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, China
Construction Bank (Asia), China Citic Bank International,
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Credit Suisse, HSBC, J.P. Morgan,
Maybank, Morgan Stanley and UBS will select the winners and provide
them with intensive in-person mentoring in Hong Kong.
“Accenture places innovation at the heart of financial services
through programs such as our FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific,
which enables financial services organizations in the region to
embrace, mentor and advise startups looking to become the digital
disruptors of the future,” said Jon Allaway, Accenture’s Group
Technology Officer for Financial Services, who oversees
the FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific. “Fintech can
lead to innovations in financial services that help make customers’
lives easier and banking less costly, which is what makes mentoring
startups so exciting for us.”
How the Lab Works
Through the competitive application process, the
10 financial institutions will select approximately seven
startups to participate in the program, which begins in August.
The entrepreneurs will be mentored for 12 weeks by
leading financial services industry executives, who will help them
fine-tune and develop their technologies and business strategies
through a series of workshops, panel discussions, user-group
sessions, networking opportunities, one-on-one meetings and
presentations. The program culminates in November with an Investor
Day presentation by participants in front of an audience of
potential investors. In cooperation with the Lab, Cyberport will
provide work space to participating entrepreneurs, and J
Plus Hotel by YOO will assist with accommodations.
The FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific is modelled on a similar
program that Accenture co-founded in 2010 with the Partnership Fund
for New York City, the US$110 million investment arm of the
Partnership for New York City (www.pfnyc.org). The New York Lab’s
24 alumni companies have raised more than US$160 million in venture
financing after participating in the program; one participant was
acquired for US$175 million. In 2012, Accenture and a dozen
major banks in London launched the FinTech Innovation Lab London,
with support from the city’s mayor and other government
bodies. The 14 companies that passed through the program in
the first two years raised more than US$35 million in new
investment, signed nearly 50 contracts to do business with banks,
and increased revenues by 170 percent. In 2014, Accenture
launched FinTech Innovation Labs in Asia-Pacific and Dublin,
Ireland. Participants in the Asia-Pacific Lab have thus far
raised more than US$6 million.
Global investment in fintech ventures tripled over the past
year, from US$4.05 billion in 2013 to US$12.2 billion in 2014.
During the same period, investments in Asia-Pacific fintech
ventures have also more than tripled, from US$245 million in 2013
to US$767 million in 2014.
“Participating in the Lab in 2014 enabled us to have high-level
conversations with C-suite executives at multinational banks and
helped us crystalize our business plan for providing advanced
technology for small business lending,” said Thomas J. DeLuca,
chief executive officer of AMP Credit Technologies (AMP). “Since
‘graduating’ from the program, we have attracted additional
investors and expanded beyond Hong Kong, Singapore and the
Philippines, recently entering the U.K. market.”
“We were impressed by the level of entrepreneurship in last
year’s FinTech Lab and look forward to continuing our support of
this initiative,” said Simon Lucocq, head of Asia-Pacific
Technology & Operations at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
“Innovation has and will continue to be crucial in driving better
outcomes in the financial services industry, and so it is important
for us to foster an environment where the best ideas can be
developed into market-ready solutions.”
“Our customers in Greater China are very digitally savvy, so we
are pleased to be leading the way in fintech innovation by once
again sponsoring the FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific,” said
Arthur Wong, head of information technology at China Construction
Bank (Asia). “The innovators in finance will be the ones best
positioned to offer customers solutions they want, which is why we
are committed to fostering fintech and bringing added values to our
clients.”
“Mainland China has leapfrogged the rest of the world with its
adoption of digital innovations,” said Michael Leung, chief
information & operations officer, China CITIC Bank
International. “Some of the solutions that are available today were
purely science fiction a decade ago. This is why we are eager
to support fintech’s development in Hong Kong.”
“CommBank is very excited about taking a leadership role in the
fintech space in Asia,” said Andrew Farmer, chief information
officer of international financial services of the Commonwealth
Bank of Australia in Hong Kong. “Fintech is unquestionably going to
play a big role in disrupting the industry, and we are keen to
help support entrepreneurs who are thinking dynamically about ways
to challenge the status quo.”
“Being innovative has been a core guiding principle at Credit
Suisse, and we are delighted to partner with the FinTech Innovation
Lab for the first time in Asia-Pacific,” said Lawrence Beck, head
of investment banking technology, Asia-Pacific at Credit Suisse.
“The region is experiencing an exciting time where we have seen a
rapid growth of organically grown startups. As the “Entrepreneur’s
Bank of Asia,” the Lab presents a unique opportunity for Credit
Suisse to partner with entrepreneurs to develop their ideas and
receive the support necessary to make them effective financial
technology innovators.”
“J.P. Morgan is pleased to once again support the FinTech
Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific, a program we are delighted to be
involved with globally,” said Sophia Leung, Asia-Pacific chief
information officer for J.P. Morgan. “As Asia continues to
strengthen its reputation as a global center of technological
innovation, it is imperative that the business community shares its
collective expertise and resources to help today’s most promising
startups become tomorrow’s technology leaders.”
“As HSBC celebrates its 150th anniversary we are proud to
continue to support Hong Kong, where we are fostering new
developments such as fintech innovation in the financial hub of
Asia-Pacific,” said Raymond Cheng, chief operating officer, HSBC
Asia-Pacific. “Fintech is clearly on the rise, and the banks that
embrace it will be the ones bringing their customers fresh, new
ideas.”
“We see in Asean, and across Asia-Pacific, how digitally savvy
our customers are and how willing they are to embrace new
solutions,” said Michael Foong, group chief strategy officer of
Maybank Group. “We are pleased to be taking a leadership position
in supporting fintech innovation in this region.”
“We are happy to continue our global and regional support of the
FinTech Innovation Lab,” said Jim McGill, Asia chief information
officer for Morgan Stanley. “This initiative helps Hong Kong and
the greater Asia-Pacific region to motivate and support innovation
in technology startup companies.”
"Our partnership with the FinTech Innovation Lab
Asia-Pacific last year gave us an insight into what startups were
thinking about and gave them an opportunity to test ideas," said
James Kennedy, chief technology officer for global application
delivery at UBS. “The accelerator program does exactly what it says
on the tin – accelerates new ideas into the marketplace.”
“The FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific at Cyberport was a huge
success last year, and we are proud to be a part of the initiative
to ensure that our financial services industry is supported with
the latest innovations,” said Herman Lam Heung-yeung, chief
executive officer of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company.
“Cyberport has been nurturing IT industry startups and
entrepreneurs in Hong Kong for years and will continue to be a
front for new businesses to flourish.”
Startups selected for the FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific
will be notified by mid-July. The program will begin in August and
conclude with presentations at Investor Day in early November.
Finalists must reside in Hong Kong for the duration of the
program. For more information about the FinTech Innovation Lab
Asia-Pacific, visit www.fintechinnovationlabapac.com.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services
and outsourcing company, with approximately 323,000 people serving
clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled
experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and
business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most
successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help
them become high-performance businesses and governments. The
company generated net revenues of US$30.0 billion for the fiscal
year ended Aug. 31, 2014. Its home page
is www.accenture.com.
AccentureLara Wozniak, + 852 6196
0362lara.wozniak@accenture.comorFrancois Luu, +
33 660 538 428francois.luu@accenture.com
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