Deloitte announces winners for its inaugural Technology Fast 20 Hong Kong program

Published: 27 September 2017

The 2017 Deloitte Technology Fast 20 (TF20) and Rising Star Programs in Hong Kong came to a successful conclusion at today's award ceremony held at the Exchange Auditorium of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. During the ceremony, Deloitte announced the winners of this year's TF20, including the top three companies – WeLab Holdings Limited, SenseTime Group Inc., and GoGo Tech Holdings Limited. For the Rising Star Program, 10 companies including Klook, TNG were identified for their viable business models and strong growth potentials. In this inaugural year, the winners came from a wide spectrum of industries, spanning FinTech, AI, software, hardware, biotech, media and e-commerce.

In addition to offering quality products and services, the winning companies of the TF20 Program have demonstrated remarkable business growth for three years since 2014. WeLab saw a 3-year average revenue growth rate of 7,130% in 2016 against 2014, while both SenseTime and GoGo Tech achieved growth rates of more than 3,000%.

To ensure that participants could gain the most out of the TF20 and Rising Star Programs, Deloitte also released a report that has collated opinions from industry protagonists on the impact of digitalisation on local industries, and the challenges and opportunities faced by their companies in an increasingly innovative business environment. The findings show that almost 80% of respondents believe that digitalisation will pose a substantial or disruptive impact on the competitiveness of businesses. In terms of challenges, 63% believe that the greatest challenge faced in the course of accelerating digital development is ensuring a balance between innovation and regulation.

Philip Law, Deloitte TF20 Hong Kong Program Leader, said "Deloitte is grateful for the opportunity to partner with strategic partners, local incubators, venture capital investors and other professional organizations to organize this meaningful program, which provides a profile-building platform for fast growing companies in emerging industries of Hong Kong to share their success stories. It is hoped that the Program will also enable participant companies to meet and network with their counterparts, as well as private equity and venture capital investors. Digitalization has become vital for achieving technology transformation, and the Deloitte report has also underlined key challenges experienced by companies in their course of digitalisation. To navigate the hurdles, we believe that it is important for companies to put in place a comprehensive digital strategy, rather than focusing just on adopting the latest technology. Companies should also develop a roadmap for recruiting and developing talents, who are able to utilize big data in solving complex problems in a highly complex digital business environment."  

The 2017 Deloitte Technology Fast Program in Hong Kong was organized in collaboration with predominant local incubators, including Hong Kong Cyberport (Cyberport) and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP).

“Cyberport is excited to be a strategic partner of Deloitte’s TF20 and Rising Star Programmes .  The awards are strong affirmation of our start-ups' ingenuity and achievements. We are proud that the winners include many high-flying Cyberport start-ups like GOGOVAN, TNG, and KLOOK that are already achieving success across multiple markets.  As the driver of Hong Kong’s digital tech ecosystem, Cyberport is committed to provide full range of support to our start-ups along their entrepreneurial journey to help them become global brands and springboard to greater success in the New Economy,” said Dr Lee George Lam, Chairman of Cyberport.

Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP said, "It is very encouraging to see the great success achieved by the companies in Science Park. Our very first unicorn in the Park, SenseTime has achieved phenomenal growth and elevated the development of artificial intelligence technologies in Hong Kong and China. At HKSTP, we are creating a place that brings scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs together with investors to turn dreams into reality. We will continue to double down our effort to create a vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem and offer the support to facilitate knowledge transfer and accelerate technological commercialisation. With concerted efforts from various stakeholders such as the investment community, academia, business and industry organisations, and governments, we are going to open up enormous opportunities to deliver economic and societal benefits to HK and the region, with the support of innovation and technologies."

"We live in a world where technology impacts the lives of 7.5 billion people, and over 1 billion connected ‘devices’ add value to the human civilisation. Technology talents and innovators around the world make a difference every day, every moment. ASTRI is proud to be the advisory partner in the Deloitte TF20 Hong Kong program. These awards celebrate the innovative, enterprising spirits of Hong Kong-based technology companies and recognise their efforts to improve lives. At ASTRI, we share the same values – as the largest applied R&D institution in Hong Kong, our relentless pursuit is to enhance business competitiveness, enrich people’s lives, and inspire the next generation technology talents," said Dr Justin Chuang, Vice President, Next Generation Network, ASTRI.

Winners of Hong Kong TF20 will enter this year’s National TF50 Program and compete with their peers across China. Over the years, many companies of the TF50 Program have emerged to become global technology giants, with notable winners including Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba. Since its inauguration in Silicon Valley in 1995, the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 program has been launched in many other countries and become the global benchmark for fast-growing technology companies.

Deloitte-HK Tech Fast 20 winners in 2017

Deloitte-HK Rising Stars 2017