Singapore's DBS Bank is to launch a startup accelerator in Hong Kong in partnership with local innovation incubator Nest.
The bank is inviting fintech startups from around the world to apply for the programme, which will be housed in a newly renovated 5,000 square foot workspace in the heart of Wan Chai.
Participants will be guided through their business growth and development with the help of mentoring from DBS and Nest senior executives as well as other partners.
The three-month programme concludes in November with DBS and Nest Demo Days and a Public Investor Demo Day, where successful ideas will be picked out for further investment.
DBS Bank Hong Kong CEO Sebastian Paredes says “The DBS Hong Kong accelerator programme with Nest embodies our long-term vision and commitment to digital innovation and demonstrates our eagerness to transform the way we operate and deliver customer service by adopting the latest in technology and software advances."
In 2014, DBS announced plans to invest S$200 million over three years to better harness digital technologies, on top of a S$1 billion spend on further technology initiatives.
DBS is also promoting a "digital mindset" among employees, through a series of hackathons that pair inhouse staff with local entrepreneurs to jointly tackle business problems. At a DBS 'MegaHackathon' earlier this month, the bank embedded 150 DBS employees with local startups to work on a range of mobile banking prototypes.