Welcome to the official website of the 2025 Green Fintech Competition (“Competition”), co-hosted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers (HKIB).
Building on the success of the inaugural competition held in 2023, the 2025 Green Fintech Competition seeks to underscore the pivotal role of technology in addressing the pressing challenges of sustainable supply chains, climate risks, carbon markets, and sustainable investing and banking.
The Competition also strives to foster collaboration between the financial and technology sectors, build capacity for harnessing green fintech, and attract green fintech firms to expand their presence in Hong Kong.
Winners of the Competition will be showcased at the 2025 Green Fintech Symposium on 12 September 2025, which is a key event of the 2025 Hong Kong Green Week.
Firms are invited to participate and showcase how their green fintech solutions can be applied to the banking sector and wider financial industry to address one of the following themes:
#1 Sustainable supply chain and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
#2 Accelerating climate risk modelling and analytics
#3 Carbon market analytics and technology
#4 Sustainable investing
#5 Sustainable banking and financing products
The areas of focus of these themes can be found here.
Firms from Hong Kong and around the world are invited to participate. Participants may include, but are not limited to, data companies, green fintech companies, technology companies within the green fintech ecosystem, fintech companies diversifying into the field of sustainability, and in-house tech teams in banks and financial service providers.
Firms that participated in the 2023 Competition are also eligible to apply, provided that they can demonstrate substantial updates and enhancements in their product or solution from the previous entry. More details are available in the application form.
Interested firms must submit a green fintech solution relevant to one or more of the Competition themes by 6 June 2025 (Friday), 11:59 PM HKT.
Applications must be submitted through this platform.
New users:
Winners (one from each theme) will have the opportunity to:
Finalists from each theme will have the opportunity to:
^ Cyberport Incubation Programme will provide up to HK$500,000 financial assistance and HK$200,000 on-site rental subsidy, alongside extensive technical and business support to its successful applicants. For more details, please refer to the programme’s website here.
* HKSTP’s Incubation Programme will provide up to HK$1,200,000 in funding for technology and business development expenses, offer R&D support, mentorship, investor matching, and more. Acceptance to the incubation programme is subject to eligibility and admission requirements. For more details, please refer to the programme’s website here.
& A winner will receive fast-track opportunities to the interview stages of the incubation programmes of Cyberport and HKSTP. However, acceptance into these incubation programmes are not guaranteed. If the winner is accepted into both programmes, they must select only one in accordance with the standard entry requirements of Cyberport and HKSTP.
# HKSTP’s Global Connect offers firms the opportunity to access Asia markets. The soft-landing programme provides a grant of up to HK$100,000 for scaling up a business in Hong Kong, subject to milestone achievements. For more details, please refer to the programme’s website here.
Note: The supporting organisations reserve the rights of final decision and interpretation for all the opportunities offered.
The Competition consists of three rounds, each with its own set of evaluation criteria. The evaluations will be conducted separately for each theme.
Round 1: Initial Screening
Round 2: Video Assessment
Shortlisted firms from Round 1 will be invited to submit a 5-minute demo video to showcase their solution. The demo video and the application form will be evaluated based on the following criteria:| Aspect | Weighting | Evaluation criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Company | 20% | Capabilities and experience of leadership and technical team. |
| Theme | 30% | Relevance of the solution to the theme and area of focus, approach to addressing the area of focus, and overall comprehensiveness. |
| Solution | 30% | Flexibility, innovation, scalability, and sustainability of the solution. |
| Others | 20% | Transparency, usability, value proposition, and technology of the solution. |
Round 3: Q&A Session
Finalists of the Competition will be invited to a Q&A session with the judging panel, and will be evaluated based on the following criteria:| Aspect | Weighting | Evaluation criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Company | 20% | Articulation of the company’s vision and approach to collaboration. |
| Theme | 30% | Demonstration of the solution to the theme in a practical and local context. |
| Solution | 30% | Demonstration of technical knowledge and adaptability to market needs. |
| Others | 20% | Performance, enthusiasm, and technical acumen of the team. |
The judging panel comprises industry leaders from diverse fields, including experts from the banking, investment, and technology industries, as well as professional associations and academia.
Institute of Sustainability and Technology (IST): IST is a non-profit organisation with a mission to empower transformational solutions to tackle the world's most pressing environmental and social challenges via innovative technology, education, research and global initiatives.
Cyberport: Cyberport is Hong Kong’s digital tech hub and AI accelerator which gathers over 2,200 companies, including 5 listed companies and 7 unicorns. One-third of on-site companies’ founders come from 26 countries and regions, while Cyberport companies have expanded to over 35 global markets.
Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP): HKSTP is Hong Kong’s powerhouse for international innovation and technology, with over 2,200 technology companies from 26 countries/regions of origin, and approximately 1,500 start-ups supported.
InvestHK: InvestHK is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government department responsible for foreign direct investment, with the mission of attracting and retaining such investments.
Q: Our firm / solution joined the Competition in 2023. Are we eligible to join the Competition again this year?
A: We welcome applications from solutions that participated in the 2023 Competition, provided that the solutions are relevant to the 2025 Competition themes and areas of focus, and have undergone substantial updates and enhancements since the last submission in 2023. You will have the opportunity to share any updates and enhancements made since the 2023 Competition in the application form.
Q: Our firm is a start-up based in another jurisdiction, are we eligible to join the Competition?
A: Yes. We invite green fintech solutions from all regions of the world to take part in the Competition. The evaluation process will take into account whether the solution is applicable to the Hong Kong market. Firms can provide relevant information in the application form.
Q: Our firm has many years of history and offers mature solutions meeting more than one of the Competition themes with operations in multiple locations. Can we make more than one application?
A: Yes. We encourage participation from all market players to join the Competition. You may submit more than one application with your solution, provided that they are relevant to the Competition themes and areas of focus. The applications should be submitted separately.
Q: Our firm does not focus on offering fintech solutions. Our firm developed a solution for internal use which fits well with the Competition themes with huge potential to be applied to the banking sector in Hong Kong. Can we join the Competition?
A: Yes. Companies including data companies, green fintech companies, technology companies within the green fintech ecosystem, fintech companies diversifying into the field of sustainability, and in-house tech teams in banks and financial service providers, etc. with solutions relevant to the Competition themes and areas of focus are welcome to join the Competition.
Q: Does the Competition support fintech startups at all funding stages?
A: The Competition welcomes fintech startups at all funding stages.
Q: Will intellectual property (IP) be protected during the Competition?
A: Yes. Intellectual property protection is a critical aspect of the Competition. To safeguard participants’ IP rights, information will be shared only with essential parties involved in the Competition, including the hosts, supporting organisations, judges, and the designated consultant.
Q: Can a firm apply with an idea or does it need to be a working product?
A: Both are accepted. While our primary focus is on refined solutions intended for adoption by the industry, we seek to provide a platform to introduce and cultivate a diverse array of innovative ideas and solutions related to green fintech.
If you have any enquiries on the Competition, please contact <[email protected]>.
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