WHub is expanding to India & here’s how you can benefit from it
Event Recap & Key Learnings of WHub’s trip to Vizag
For the last week, Karena Belin, Co-Founder & CEO of WHub was in Visakhapatnam (Vizag), India, for the Vizag FinTech Festival. It was an immensely fruitful experience full of powerful alliances, insightful learnings, and meaningful exchanges.
During this expedition to Vizag, which is also known as “the City of Destiny”, WHub’s main objective was to sign the MoU with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to create a bridge between the two FinTech hubs, but we also spoke on panels, were interviewed by TV5 (broadcasted live) and witnessed a global roadshow with a prize of a grand total of US$1 Million.
We’ve written an article detailing the key learnings from WHub’s expedition this time, and how this partnership can benefit all stakeholders in the two startup ecosystems! Interested in hiring quality international talent, scaling to India, Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, or collaborating with startups overseas? Email hello@whub.io to find out more and to let us know exactly how we can help.
22nd October : CxO’s Golf tournament —Interviewed by TV5 News
On the first day, WHub attended the 2nd FinTech CxO Golf Tournament where Karena Belin, Co-Founder & CEO of WHub, was interviewed with Sri. J A Chowdary, IT Advisor to the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, by TV5.
Key quotes by Karena:
WHub connects startups to the resources they need to grow and scale their business, be it talent, or funding. Obviously, we also connect them to other ecosystems regionally and internationally, because startups by definition, want to scale on a global level. This is why we are so looking forward to this collaboration with FinTech Valley Vizag.
We are excited to helping Indian Startups from Andhra Pradesh scale into Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, and Southeast Asia. Hong Kong has as proven in the past to, in a very short time, provide startups the opportunity to scale big regionally.
We’re also interested for talent from Vizag to connect with opportunities in Hong Kong, or help Hong Kong startups, expand into India, and build diverse teams here. The quality of tech talent available here is huge, and the market structure in Vizag is very interesting. This is a very different marketing and it would be valuable to learn the know-how here.
22nd October : Signed MoU with the Government of Andhra Pradesh
Karena Belin signed the MoU with Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society (APIS), led by Winny Pattro and in the presence of Sri. J A Chowdary, IT Advisor to the CM of Andhra Pradesh, to forge a partnership and create synergy between the two FinTech hubs.
Here are some of the key collaborative points:
- WHub & FinTech Valley Vizag will support each other to nurture the startup ecosystems
- WHub and FinTech Valley Vizag will collaborate in FinTech and EmergeTech initiatives to support startup ecosystem stakeholders
- WHub and FinTech Valley Vizag will set up an international launchpad connecting Indian Startups and Talent to Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, and vice versa, and provide “soft-landing” services
24th October : Keynote Speaker at panel — Building Blocks in FinTech
To have a thriving (FinTech) ecosystem — what do we need? Talent, Funding, are the cornerstones, but there are so many more elements. — Karena Belin, Co-Founder & CEO, WHub
Karena Belin spoke on the panel “Building Blocks in FinTech” with four other panelists. The discussion addressed the essentials of building up a FinTech ecosystem.
Key Learnings:
- FinTech is massive in China right now — FinTech investments in Q2 2018 have dominated the overall investment landscape. The most prominent Chinese FinTech giants being Baidu, Alibaba and Tecent.
- Every thriving ecosystem requires the following building blocks:
- Funding
- Talent
- A network of community builders
- Synergy through collaborations with other startups & incumbents
- Product-testing grounds
- Funding & governmental support - Financial systems, which are the backbone of the working of our economies, we need:
- Regulators
- Security
For this, an effective point of contact with the government is critical
25th October : Million Dollar Challenge — Final Pitchfest
The Million Dollar Challenge is a Global Roadshow by the FinTech Valley Vizag to find the best startups in FinTech, AgriTech and EmergeTech, with Hong Kong being one of these locations which WHub was proud local hosts of. There were 4 finalists from Hong Kong who were already eligible to US$10,000 before going to Vizag for the final showdown. Our Hong Kong representatives are:
RaSpect Intelligence Inspection
A Big Data AI Inspection platform that can save more than 50% time and cost, with higher accuracy compared with the traditional practice.
MediConCen
A medical network powered by blockchain, MediConCen is another “Uber” for doctors that mobilizes latent supply, allowing doctors to set their own prices.
Kristal.ai
An AI-enabled Digital Asset Management Platform giving investors access to curated portfolios from the world’s top Portfolio Managers.
Firevisor Systems Pte. Ltd.
An AI-based platform that enables you to put all of your manufacturing data to use and to look beyond just defect detection and age-old process control methods.
With 1,000+ applications, the event reaching 50,000+ startups and saw 200+ startups pitching throughout the entire roadshow. The Hong Kong teams’ performances were outstanding, and well deserved to be in the 37 finalists.
Here are the winners and the runners-up of the event:
FinTech
Winner: neoEYED Inc.
1st Runner Up: Lapetus Solutions
2nd Runner Up: AssetVault
AgriTech
Winner: 3barre
1st Runner Up: BeeHero
2nd Runner Up: Nanowear Inc.
EmergeTech
Winner: Matisoft Cyber Security Labs
1st Runner Up: Desolenator
2nd Runner Up: Doppler Drone
Massive congratulations to all the winners, runners-up and finalists of the Million Dollar Challenge!
Stay up to date with WHub
We write blogs every week! Don’t miss out on any!
Sign up to WHub’s Newsletter: https://whub.io/s/newsletter/
Follow WHub on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whubhk/
Follow WHub on Twitter: https://twitter.com/whub_io
Follow WHub on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/w-hub/
