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- PoC Scheme Returns, Empowering Enterprises to Innovate and Transform with Green Technology
Secretary's Blog
The seminar on “Green Fintech: Catalyst for Scaling Sustainable Finance”, which focused on green finance technology, was one of the key events of the "Hong Kong Green Week" held by the HKSAR Government earlier this year. During the event, the Green and Sustainable Finance Cross-Agency Steering Group announced the "Prototype Hong Kong Green Fintech Map", providing one-stop information on the current status of Green Fintech companies in Hong Kong and related services, with a view to raising the companies’ profile. Currently, over 50 enterprises are featured on the Map.
To encourage
the industry to develop more fintech projects and promote their commercialisation, we are now launching the
brand new "Green and Sustainable Fintech Proof-of-Concept Funding Support
Scheme", which is modelled after the “PoC Scheme” (Fintech Proof-of-Concept
Subsidy Scheme). Administered by
Cyberport, this scheme will provide early-stage funding to support technology companies or
research institutes which are registered and have commenced business in Hong
Kong, and conduct green fintech activities, to collaborate with local
enterprises (such as financial institutions, listed companies, carbon credit
entities, etc.), which can benefit
from adopting the green and sustainable fintech solutions , to co-develop new projects in the market that can address
the industry pain points. The Scheme aims to facilitate the solutions concerned
to complete the commercialisation and proof-of-concept stage, so as to enable wider adoption of green and sustainable fintech solutions with potential
in the business landscape
of Hong
Kong.
The Scheme covers five key areas which fulfil
the goal of integrating fintech and sustainable development. They are (i) Green & Digital Finance and
Investment, (ii) ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Disclosure,
Compliance & Regulatory Reporting, (iii) Carbon Trading, Analytics and
Technology, (iv) ESG Data, Intelligence and Analytics and (v) ESG/Climate Risk
Modelling & Assessment. The maximum grant for each approved project is
HK$150,000.
Technology
and sustainable development are the major forces shaping the future of the
financial industry. We are confident that the new Scheme
can accelerate the comprehensive development of green fintech in Hong Kong, raising
enterprises' motivation in adopting green fintech, further
promoting Hong Kong's position as a green fintech hub in Asia. The application period of the Scheme will run from June 28 to September 20 this
year and Cyberport will release application details shortly. I encourage
eligible green fintech companies and enterprises to join hands to participate in
the Scheme, make good use of the funding support, and let your green and
sustainable fintech solutions lead the green transformation of businesses.
28 June 2024