MaRS teams up with Cyberport to bridge markets in Asia and Canada for fintech startups

Launched during Ontario government’s international mission to Asia, new partnership set to expand pathway into the Asian market

HONG KONG, November 11, 2015 – MaRS Discovery District (“MaRS”) and Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (“Cyberport”), an innovation hub based in Hong Kong, today announced a new partnership, with a focus on driving financial technology (fintech) innovation and entrepreneurship in Hong Kong and Canada.

As part of the partnership, Cyberport and MaRS will work to identify business acceleration opportunities for ventures from both hubs, help facilitate relationships with the financial industry in Canada and Hong Kong, and enable collaboration on joint entrepreneurship programs focused on fintech, wearables, big data and payment technologies.

“We are delighted to establish a long-term strategic partnership with MaRS, a renowned urban innovation hub,” said Herman Lam, CEO, Cyberport. “Like MaRS’ financial technology cluster, fintech is also one of Cyberport’s key focus areas with local and overseas startups striving to achieve success and expand globally. With Hong Kong being an international financial centre, the fintech community definitely has the advantage of being able to join forces with like-minded talents and leverage the wealth of financial knowledge here. Through our collaboration with MaRS and our global network, these entrepreneurs can leap onto the world stage armed with deeper insight into the fintech market and ample business opportunities.”

Hong Kong fintech startups selected from today’s fintech seminar will receive mentorship from MaRS, complimentary use of hot desks, and new connections to customers, investors and partners in Toronto and North American markets.

As an international finance centre with a robust startup ecosystem, Hong Kong is a regional hub for fintech innovation. Through its global connections, MaRS is dedicated to helping Canadian startups grow internationally through partnerships with Startupbootcamp in the United Kingdom, Cubo in Brazil and the Singapore FinTech Consortium.

“A global network is essential for the success of our startups, which are looking to scale and grow,” said Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, CEO, MaRS Discovery District. “Hong Kong is a regional hub for the banking industry, the gateway to Mainland China and a centre for technology. This partnership will provide great opportunities for high-potential Canadian fintech startups to collaborate with international financial institutions and investors. By strengthening our position as a leading global innovation hub, we strive to provide new platforms for our startups to soar.”

About MaRS Discovery District
MaRS Discovery District (@MaRSDD) in Toronto is the one of the world’s largest urban innovation hubs. MaRS supports promising young ventures tackling key societal challenges in the health, cleantech and ICT sectors. In the last three years, these ventures have raised $1.3 billion in capital and earned $640 million in revenue. In addition to helping startups launch, grow and scale, the MaRS community is dedicated to cross-disciplinary collaboration, commercialization of discoveries and driving ideas to impact.

About Cyberport
Cyberport is a creative digital cluster with over 600 community members. It is managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, which is wholly owned by the Hong Kong SAR Government. With a vision to establish itself as a leading information and communications technology (ICT) hub in the Asia-Pacific region, Cyberport is committed to facilitating the local economy by nurturing ICT industry start-ups and entrepreneurs, driving collaboration to pool resources and create business opportunities, and accelerating ICT adoption through strategic initiatives and partnerships. Equipped with an array of state-of-the-art ICT facilities and a cutting-edge broadband network, the Cyberport community is home to four grade-A intelligent office buildings, a five-star design hotel, and a retail entertainment complex.

For more information, please visit www.cyberport.hk or follow us on Twitter @cyberport_hk.

For media enquiries, contact:
Lara Torvi
MaRS Discovery District
416-673-8100
ltorvi@marsdd.com

Karen Wu
Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited
852-3166-3819
karenwu@cyberport.hk

Sarah Lam
The Hoffman Agency
852-2231-8107
salam@hoffman.com

Grace Chu
The Hoffman Agency
852-2231-8109
gchu@hoffman.com