SuperCharger Fintech Accelerator announced the launch of its 2.0 program on January 9th in the newly opened Cyberport FinTech Smart Space. The accelerator welcomed the program’s eight fintech start-ups and scale-up participants, which are Bambu, Clare.ai, Entersoft, FinChat, Foris, KYC Chain, Squirro, and Xnotes Alliance. The companies will be collaborating with and learning from fintech professionals in Asia over the next three months.
As previously reported, SuperCharger is focused on the rising tide of Fintech innovation in Asia. Wealth management, regulatory technology (RegTech), artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and blockchain were the areas with reportedly the most compelling submissions for the 2017 SuperCharger FinTech Accelerator 2.0 program. The accelerator program has received the support of many prominent companies, including Standard Chartered and Fidelity. While sharing details about the program, Janos Barberis, founder of SuperCharger, recently stated:
“SuperCharger is strongly establishing itself as Hong Kong’s leading FinTech accelerator. The quality of this year’s cohort is a testament to that and reflects the role our accelerator plays for the sourcing of products, solutions and talent in the financial services industry in this region.”
SuperCharger revealed the program’s launch day attracted more than 200 people from the Hong Kong fintech community and presented an opportunity for the new cohort to connect with an extensive network of entrepreneurs, investors and finance experts. Veronika Kuznetsova, Managing Director at SuperCharger, shared at the event:
“We are committed to delivering results for our participants through driving long term growth for their businesses, facilitating valuable partnerships and opening doors to help them establish a strong foothold in the Hong Kong market. The lasting success of the start-ups directly translates to success of the program.”
Representatives from Standard Chartered Bank and Fidelity International, the main sponsors of SuperCharger’s 2.0 program, also delivered speeches about the renewed drive for fintech in Hong Kong. Paul Wan, Standard Chartered’s Interim Chief Information Officer for Hong Kong, commented:
“Standard Chartered is proud to be the main partner of SuperCharger for the second consecutive year. We believe that innovative ideas brought by the 8 FinTech finalists will help bring technological advancements to the Bank’s products and services. With the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s FinTech Supervisory Sandbox up and running, Standard Chartered is committed to supporting Hong Kong’s FinTech ecosystem and leveraging these cutting-edge technologies to improve our customers’ experience.”
SuperCharge noted that it’s 2.0 program launch took place before the StartmeupHK Festival, which is taking place January 16th-20th. The founders of the program’s eight participating companies will complete a curriculum structured around fintech and gain access to a network of partners and mentors. Following the 12-week program, the companies will have boosted their growth prospects within the Asian Fintech Market.
SuperCharger FinTech Accelerator 2.0 is also supported by Cyberport, a venue partner providing the participants the newly opened Cyberport Smart-Space FinTech Centre as a co-working space. Organizations also supporting the program include Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, VISA, Baker and McKenzie, Arbor Ventures, General Assembly, Amazon Web Services, InvestHK, FinnovAsia, Mambu, FinTech St, e27, Crowdfund Insider and the University of Hong Kong.