Fintech startup APrivacy is set to scale its data encryption and tracking technology business from Hong Kong
Established in Canada in 2010, APrivacy is a fintech expert in data security that caters for the financial services industry, with a primary focus on banks. Its security solutions protect confidential information on any devices, digital documents, emails and even messaging and cloud storage. This is through restricting copying, saving, printing, or forwarding documents and emails; or pull back any document or email message at any time, even after being sent or downloaded.
“It is like an invisible security layer on top of existing applications, so you can use whatever application you want and we make it secure with seamless user experience,” Dr Cédric Jeannot, CEO, APrivacy, explained the uniqueness behind the technology.
Fintech Acceleration Programme
After completing the three-month Accenture FinTech Innovation Lab Asia Pacific Programme in 2014, Dr Jeannot, and Michael Basler, COO and CFO, realised the market opportunity and decided to set up in Hong Kong.
“The programme allows us to have a better sense of the city and the lifestyle, and there is a good balance between culture and business. It offers an ideal platform where fintech startups meet the banks and understand the trends and their needs,” Dr Jeannot said.
In September 2015, they set up an office at Smart Space, the co-work space at Cyberport, and another one in downtown Central. To meet its business needs, APrivacy plans to hire up to 20 staff for sales and marketing, customer support, project management and technical deployment by end of 2016.
Massive Market, Sophisticated Customers
Hong Kong has more opportunities for fintech startups than New York, according to Dr Jeannot. “I think local customers are more sophisticated when compared to those in North America. For example, Chinese customers may request the bank staff to use instant messaging apps to communicate with them. If the bank is unable to provide such services, the Chinese customers can easily switch to another bank. Hence, there is an increasing demand for compliance and data centric security solutions,” he explained.
“In terms of market demand of our services, Hong Kong is 10 times larger than the US. And from entrepreneurship point of view, Hong Kong has all the ingredients for startups to flourish – excellent connectivity, strategic location and an increasing number of incubators and accelerators,” he added.
APrivacy was assisted by InvestHK’s Toronto office and the Information and Communications Technology team from the very beginning. Dr Jeannot is very impressed with the efficiency and ease of setting up in Hong Kong. “It is super easy to set up a company in Hong Kong. It is so business-friendly that companies do not need to reinvent the wheel. InvestHK is a one-stop shop for startups and the government services here are very efficient,” he said.