Hong Kong Startup News Roundup - 23 June 2019

Schneider Electric Partners with Brinc to accelerate start-up solutions powered by IoT and AI

Schneider Electric, a leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation in homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries, today announced it has partnered with Brinc in the launching of Brinc & Schneider Electric Energy & Industrial IoT Accelerator Program to accelerate startup solutions powered by Internet of Things (IoT) and AI.

The accelerator program is open to entrepreneurs around the world. As part of the program, selected candidates will enter Brinc’s 3-Month IoT & Connected Hardware accelerator in Hong Kong, a global hardware business hub.

Successful candidates receive $125,000 USD, plus Brinc and Schneider Electric mentoring and services in exchange for 10% equity of the startup. Applications are open to entrepreneurs around the world but must be present in Hong Kong for 1 month of the program for on-site training, and 2 months of the program can be done remotely. Entrepreneurs can apply today and applications are open until August 10th.

This partnership is part of Schneider Electric’s Innovation at the Edge Program, which invests, incubates and partners with startups and large companies to co-innovate the future of energy, and has more than 40 startup partnerships and incubation projects.

Allied Wallet acquires Hong Kong FinTech startup Epayment

Allied Wallet, a London, United Kingdom-based FinTech startup offering various payment solutions in 196 countries, has acquired Epayment, one of the largest financial technology companies in Hong Kong. The acquisition will enable the company to expand in the Hong Kong area.

Allied Wallet has shown record-breaking growth for over a decade in the digital payments and Fintech space. In the past year alone, they have expanded their offering in a countless number of countries including: Indonesia, Malaysia, Spain, Vietnam, Peru, and many more.

Their goal is to connect more buyers and sellers globally and allow people to transact with whichever payment method they prefer.

Several months ago, Allied Wallet made note of Epayment’s success in Hong Kong. The way that Epayment was able to connect with users was very powerful in this region.

86.3% of Hong Kong’s population are internet users. As e-commerce continues to grow in the region, Allied Wallet is positioning itself to be the leading FinTech company in Hong Kong and abroad.

GuestReady raises $6M to help hosts on Airbnb and other services manage their property

GuestReady, a three-year-old service that lets shared-economy hosts manage their business on Airbnb and other rental sites, has announced a $6 million Series A round.

The investment was led by existing backer Impulse VC — the Russian fund that is backed by billionaire Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich  — and new addition VentureSouq from Dubai. Other past backers also took part, including Boost Heroes, Aria Group and 808 Tech Ventures. GuestReady raised $3 million in 2017 and this round takes it to nearly $10 million from investors to date.

Crowdfund Insider interviews Karen Contet Farzam, cofounder AngelHub

Crowdfund Insider recently connected with AngelHub, the first investment crowdfunding platform to receive a license from a Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong. 

AngelHub discussed the company’s vision, Hong Kong ecosystem, expectations for 2019 and competitors in the market. 

Full interview is available on crowdfund insider. 

Here is an excerpt:

Q. The Fintech ecosystem in Hong Kong appears to be picking up steam. Which sectors do you believe have the most momentum?

A.Similar to what was written in our Hong Kong Fintech Whitepaper, released in Q2 of this year, we consider the most represented and growing Fintech sectors to be Financial Inclusion, Cryptocurrency, and WealthTech.

Hong Kong e-commerce platform Shopline enters Malaysia

Hong Kong-based e-commerce platform Shopline has officially expanded its operations into Malaysia by setting up an office in Kuala Lumpur.

The platform allows merchants to set up online stores, offering a wide selection of shop designs, payment gateways, and shipping options. Shopline claims to have placed more than 150,000 entrepreneurs on its platform, shipping merchandise to more than 200 million customers in 2018.

Earlier this year, Shopline raised USD 2 million from CDIB Capital Group and Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, according to an official statement.

Shopline also has offices in Taiwan and Shenzhen.