The FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific is an annual accelerator based in Hong Kong, run by Accenture together with Hong Kong Cyberport and a group of major financial institutions. It takes a small cohort of early- to growth-stage technology companies working on fintech, insurtech, or enterprise products aimed at financial services. Selected teams spend the autumn working with senior executives from partner banks, insurers, and venture funds, testing their product against what those institutions actually buy.
The Lab was co-founded by the Partnership Fund for New York City and Accenture, which run sister programmes in New York and London. The Asia-Pacific edition closes with a Demo Day in early November, where the cohort presents to investors, regulators, and industry leaders.
Benefits & funding
- Free to join, and the programme takes zero equity.
- Mentoring from senior executives at partner financial institutions, from Accenture, and from venture capital partners.
- Workshops and panel discussions on industry trends and technology, concentrated in the opening two weeks.
- Introductions aimed at proof-of-concept projects and commercial partnerships with participating institutions.
- A Demo Day presentation slot in early November, in front of investors, regulators, and financial services leaders.
- Visa sponsorship where a participant needs one.
- Financial institution partners listed for the Asia-Pacific Lab include AIA, AXA, Bank of America, BEA, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Prudential Hong Kong, and Standard Chartered.
- No cash investment, salary, or stipend is advertised. Across the global Lab, alumni companies report more than USD 6.6 billion raised.
Eligibility
- Applicants are companies, not individuals. No age, degree, gender, or nationality requirement is set.
- Early- to growth-stage technology companies; historically these have sat between seed and Series B.
- Fintech and insurtech companies, and companies from other sectors whose product serves financial services.
- Teams should be in Hong Kong or moving there soon, with ambitions across the wider region. Overseas teams can join parts of the programme virtually or attend in person for portions of it.
- Finalists must attend the welcome reception and Demo Day in person.
- Senior management is expected at a minimum of 80% of programme activity. The first two weeks run four to six workshop hours a day; after that the commitment is roughly six to eight hours a week for mentoring and partner meetings.
- Applications are scored on nine criteria: impact on client organisations; innovation and uniqueness against an unmet need; the leadership team’s technical and industry expertise; an existing proof of concept with a financial services client; relevance to Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific market; regulatory compliance; scalability across products and locations; cybersecurity and data protection; and the ability to integrate with financial infrastructure through APIs.
- The 2026 call named seven focus themes: AI-enhanced productivity and client engagement; responsible AI and model risk governance; digital trust, covering cybersecurity, fraud prevention, and resilience; financial crime, RegTech, risk, and compliance automation; the future of money and payments, covering interoperable rails, digital assets, and programmable money; open finance, digital identity, and API ecosystems; and insurance transformation.
Can you apply?
Open to all applicants
No nationality, residency, education, or experience limits are listed.
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Application process
- 1Wait for the annual call to open on the Asia-Pacific programme page; the 2026 round opened on 2 March 2026.
- 2Submit the online application before the deadline. The 2026 round closed on 30 April 2026.
- 3Shortlisted companies are invited to Interview Day to pitch and demo; in 2026 this ran on 2 and 3 June.
- 4Selected companies join the cohort when the programme begins in September.
- 5The cohort works with mentors and partner institutions through the autumn and presents at Demo Day in early November.
Program timeline
Applications open
Mar 2, 2026
Application deadline
Apr 30, 2026
Interview Day
Jun 2, 2026 to Jun 3, 2026
Programme begins
September 2026
Demo Day
Early November 2026