The 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Ideathon: AI, FinTech, and Financial Literacy, a territory-wide competition organized by the Center for Technology and Business Ecosystem (CTBE) at the School of Business and Management of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST Business School), the Investor and Financial Education Council (IFEC), and Cyberport, has concluded successfully, showcasing the creativity, technical imagination and entrepreneurial potential of tertiary students across Hong Kong in the rapidly evolving fields of Web3 and AI. The Ideathon brought together 107 teams formed by over 300 students from local tertiary institutions to create solutions to real-world financial challenges using those rapidly evolving technologies.
The competition culminated in the Final Pitch Fest, where nine finalist teams presented their proposals before a judging panel. A two-member team took the championship with its “Zero-Knowledge Private Banker” project, which aims to enable Web3-native investors to access traditional finance, including institutional investment opportunities, credit facilities, and advisory services, while retaining control over their own data. The 1st runner-up and 2nd runner-up presented projects titled “Empowering Migrant Workers to Grow” and “Self-Paying Wallet” respectively.
As Hong Kong continues to advance as an international financial centre and innovation hub, the annual competition reflects a shared commitment by the organizers to cultivate talent capable of applying disruptive technologies to advance investment, financial education, and business ecosystems. This year, participating students were encouraged to create solutions that can improve financial decision-making, strengthen financial literacy, and enhance protection against scams in the digital age.
Prof. MENG Zhaoli, Associate Director of the Center for Technology and Business Ecosystem (CTBE), commented, “At CTBE, we are committed to understanding how technological innovation reshapes industry practices, organizational structures, and the broader business ecosystem. We aim to build a platform where academia, industry, and policymakers can work together to explore new technologies and help stakeholders thrive in a more balanced and sustainable way. The 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Ideathon brings together tertiary students across Hong Kong to explore the potential of Web3, AI, and financial innovation. We thank all the participants for helping us imagine and shape a more innovative and inclusive future.”
Ms. Michelle YEUNG, Head of Investor Education and Stakeholder Engagements at the IFEC, remarked, “The Ideathon not only provides a unique platform for tertiary students to showcase their creative business plan through Web3 and AI innovations, but also underscores the critical role of investor and financial education as they integrate financial management principles into the fabric of Web3 and AI. We are delighted to witness tertiary students addressing a diverse range of investment and money management topics, including data privacy management, financial literacy for vulnerable groups, and scam prevention. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Cyberport, to partner with the IFEC in this meaningful journey to help nurture the next generation of Web3 talents for Hong Kong’s sustainable future.”
Ms. Rachel LEE, Director of Blockchain and Digital Asset at Cyberport, remarked, “At Cyberport, we are empowering entrepreneurs to create user‑centric and trust‑enhanced applications to unlock new economic models and digital experiences. This Web3 Ideathon is more than a competition — it is a launchpad for talent, ideas, and ventures that will drive Hong Kong’s digital asset and blockchain ecosystem forward. We look forward to further supporting innovators in this competition and beyond in building and scaling their innovative solutions.”
The 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Ideathon also featured an introductory seminar and a preparatory workshop as well as other resources designed to deepen students’ knowledge of Web3 and AI, connect with experts, and strengthen their technical and business skills. By bringing together students, educators, and ecosystem partners, the initiative serves not only as a competition but also as a platform for learning, collaboration, and nurturing future innovators shaping Hong Kong’s digital economy.
In appreciation of their creative solutions, a total cash prize of HK$90,000 was awarded to the finalist teams, with qualified top performers also gaining fast-tracked interviews for the Cyberport Creative Micro Fund or the Cyberport Incubation Programme.
Group photo with all the finalists and representatives from the competition organizers.
The representative of the champion team from HKU with Ms. Michelle YEUNG, Head of Investor Education and Stakeholder Engagements at the Investor and Financial Education Council
The 1st runner-up team from HKU with Prof. MENG Zhaoli, Associate Director of Center for Technology and Business Ecosystem
The 2nd runner-up team, comprising one HKUST student and one HKBU student, with Ms. Rachel LEE, Director of Blockchain and Digital Asset at Cyberport.
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About HKUST Business School
The HKUST Business School is young, innovative and committed to advancing global business knowledge. The School has forged an international reputation for world class education programs and research performance, and has received many top global rankings. Rooted in Asia yet global in outlook, our international community of faculty and learners thrives on the convergence of diverse cultures, creating an engaging and stimulating environment for learning and research. HKUST graduates are highly competitive, consistently ranking among the world’s top 30 most sought-after employees. For more details about the School, please visit https://bm.hkust.edu.hk.
About the Center for Technology and Business Ecosystem
Initiated by the HKUST Business School, CTBE focuses on how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics are reshaping business strategy and ecosystem structures. With ‘the evolution of technology and business ecosystems’ as its core research theme, the center systematically explores multi-level collaborative mechanisms spanning product design, organizational structure, and platform governance, providing deep insights into the evolving logic and future trends of digital-era business ecosystems. For more details about CTBE, please visit https://ctbe.hkust.edu.hk/.
About Investor and Financial Education Council
The Investor and Financial Education Council (IFEC) is an independent public organisation and a subsidiary of the Securities and Futures Commission, dedicated to improving investor and financial education in Hong Kong. Supported by the four financial regulators and the Education Bureau, the IFEC promotes free and impartial investor and financial education messages to target audiences through its “IFEC Chin Family”. The IFEC also leads the Financial Literacy Strategy to facilitate stakeholders to deliver more quality investor and financial education to the Hong Kong public. For more information about IFEC, please visit https://www.ifec.org.hk/web/en/index.page.
About Hong Kong Cyberport
Wholly owned by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, Cyberport is Hong Kong’s digital tech hub and AI accelerator, with a vision to empower industry digitalisation and intelligent transformation, to promote digital economy and AI development, and to foster Hong Kong to be an international AI, innovation and technology (I&T) hub. Cyberport gathers over 2,200 companies, including 5 listed companies and 7 unicorns. One-third of onsite companies’ founders come from 26 countries and regions, while Cyberport companies have expanded to over 35 global markets.
Cyberport, with Hong Kong’s largest AI Supercomputing Centre and AI Lab as the engine, has been building the AI ecosystem with industry-leading AI companies and over 350 AI and data science start-ups. Through development of tech clusters, namely AI, data science, blockchain and cybersecurity, Cyberport empowers industries across smart city and government, banking and finance, digital entertainment, culture and tourism, healthcare, education and training, property management, construction, transportation and logistics, green environment and more, while hosting Hong Kong’s largest FinTech community. Commissioned by the HKSAR Government, Cyberport has implemented proof-of-concept and sandbox schemes, subsidisation for digital tech adoption, industry tech training and start-up incubation, to drive technology R&D, translation and commercialisation, thus propelling digital transformation and intelligent upgrade across industry and society.
Also as Hong Kong’s key incubator, Cyberport supports entrepreneurs with funding and office space, extensive networks of enterprises, investors, technology corporations and professional services for business growth and expansion to Mainland China and overseas markets, all-round facilitation for landing in Hong Kong, talent attraction and cultivation, ready as a launchpad to take start-ups in any stages of development to the next level.
For more information about Cyberport, please visit https://www.cyberport.hk/en/.