2025 Applications Open
Hong Kong – March 12, 2025 – The FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific, powered by Accenture and in collaboration with Hong Kong Cyberport, is now accepting applications for its 2025 program, marking its 12th year of igniting fintech breakthroughs. This year, the accelerator invites early- and growth-stage startups to pioneer a bold mix of trends—AI-driven personalization, blockchain based asset tokenization, green finTech, sustainable finance, embedded finance, operational efficiency, risk management, cybersecurity and quantum innovation—shaping a future where banking, capital markets, and insurance converge in groundbreaking ways.
The prestigious global accelerator program connects promising fintechs with senior leaders from the world’s top financial institutions, offering a platform to co-create solutions for Asia-Pacific’s diverse markets. From AI tailoring wealth management for capital markets clients, to DeFi redefining cross-border banking, to green fintech powering sustainable insurance products, the Lab is set to tackle the industry’s most pressing opportunities. Startups will harness cutting-edge tools—think generative AI, blockchain, and real-time analytics—to redefine how financial services inspire trust, efficiency, and inclusion.
“We’re not just adapting to the future—we’re architecting it,” said Marco Tsui, Managing Director and Financial Services Lead for Accenture in Hong Kong. “In 2025, the fusion of AI, blockchain, and sustainability will empower banking, capital markets, and insurance to transcend boundaries. This program is where dreamers and doers unite to build that tomorrow. By fostering innovation and collaboration, we are committed to contributing to the growth and resilience of Hong Kong’s economy, ensuring that our clients and the community benefit from these advancements.”
Simon Chan, Chairman of Hong Kong Cyberport, said “As the FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific embarks its 12th year, Cyberport reaffirms its commitment to driving FinTech innovation. We are proud to showcase our ecosystem’s pivotal role in shaping the future of financial services and look forward to the transformative solutions that will emerge from this new cohort, as we work alongside these FinTech pioneers to propel Hong Kong’s digital economy forward.”
Since launching in 2014, the APAC Lab has nurtured over 89 fintechs, with alumni raising over US$1.1 billion, completed over 552 POCs. 15 of them have been acquired.
For 2025, the focus expands to reflect a multi-faceted fintech frontier:
1. AI-Driven Personalization and Analytics
- Focus:Enhancing customer engagement and decision-making through AI-powered personalization and predictive analytics.
- What It Covers:
- Agentic AI
- Tailored banking, insurance, and wealth management solutions using AI (e.g., chatbots, robo-advisors).
- Predictive analytics for customer behavior and risk profiling.
- Data-driven insights to optimize customer journeys and financial product recommendations.
2. Blockchain-Based Asset Tokenization and DeFi
- Focus:Advancing financial instruments and transactions through blockchain technology and decentralized finance (DeFi).
- What It Covers:
- Tokenization of real-world assets, such as securities, real estate, or collectibles, using blockchain.
- Decentralized lending, trading, and investment platforms.
- Cross-border payment solutions, including central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
3. Embedded Finance and Ecosystem Integration
- Focus:Integrating financial services seamlessly into non-financial ecosystems to enhance customer experience and unlock new revenue streams.
- What It Covers:
- Embedding payment, lending, insurance, or investment options into e-commerce, healthcare, travel, and logistics platforms.
- Development of APIs and partnerships to enable real-time financial service integration.
- Ecosystem-driven offerings such as embedded insurance, and subscription-based financial products.
4. Green Fintech and Sustainable Finance
- Focus:Supporting environmentally and socially responsible financial practices through innovative fintech solutions.
- What It Covers:
- Enhanced ESG disclosure and regulatory reporting for supply chain.
- Green lending platforms for funding sustainable projects.
- Climate-related risks modelling and analytics
- Sustainable investing and financing
- Carbon trading analytics and technology
- Wealth management strategies focused on ethical portfolios and impact investing.
5. Risk Management, Cybersecurity, and Quantum Innovation
- Focus: Strengthening defences against financial, operational, and cyber risks while exploring the potential of quantum technologies for security and financial modeling.
- What It Covers:
- AI-based fraud detection and prevention systems.
- Enhanced cybersecurity measures, including quantum cryptography for secure communications.
- Real-time monitoring for transactions, claims, and fraud detection.
- Quantum-enabled risk modeling, stress testing, and fraud detection capabilities.
6. Operational Efficiency and Process Optimization
- Focus: Streamlining internal processes and workflows to reduce costs, enhance speed, and improve service delivery using technology.
- What It Covers:
- Automation of repetitive tasks using AI and robotic process automation (RPA).
- Process optimization for faster claims, trades, payments, and settlements.
- Advanced data-sharing platforms for regulatory reporting and internal collaboration.
- Workflow tools to simplify back-office and middle-office operations, reducing errors and improving turnaround times.
Supported by an outstanding lineup of partners—including Bank of America, Citi, China Construction Bank (Asia), HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Prudential, UBS and Zurich—the program offers startups unparalleled mentorship and access to industry titans eager to co-innovate across sectors.
Key Dates for 2025:
- Application Deadline: May 12, 2025
- Program Begins: September 2025
- Demo Day: November 2025, during Hong Kong FinTech Week
At Demo Day, participants will pitch to a powerhouse audience of investors, regulators, and media, showcasing solutions poised to redefine financial ecosystems. Alumni consistently highlight the Lab’s ability to accelerate growth and forge lasting partnerships.
Eligible startups must have a working prototype and a vision to collaborate with financial institutions. Apply now at www.fintechinnovationlab.com/regions/asia-pacific or directly at the application platform.
About FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific
Modeled on similar programs that Accenture co-founded in New York and London, the FinTech Innovation Lab Asia Pacific is a highly competitive accelerator program that helps growth-stage startups refine and test their value propositions with the support of the world’s leading financial institutions.
Find out more here.
About Cyberport
Cyberport is Hong Kong’s digital technology flagship and incubator for entrepreneurship with over 2,200 members including over 900 onsite and over 1,200 offsite start-ups and technology companies. It is managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, wholly owned by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, and committed to the vision to inject new impetus into digital economy and smart city development through innovation and technology, and to connect enterprises to Mainland China and overseas markets. Cyberport strives to nurture a vibrant tech ecosystem by cultivating talents, promoting entrepreneurship among the youth, supporting start-ups, fostering technology industry development by promoting strategic collaboration with local, Mainland Chinese and international partners, and integrating new and traditional economies by accelerating digital transformation in public and private sectors.
For more information, please visit www.cyberport.hk.