Interview: FinTech Innovation Lab APAC 2026

Hui Jackson

Director, FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific, Accenture

Q1. You’ve been leading the FinTech Innovation Lab APAC for some time now. What first drew you to this role, and what continues to inspire you most about guiding the program each year?

Hui Jackson

What drew me to this role is personal — I used to be a founder myself, so I understand both the excitement and the hard realities of building a startup, especially in a highly regulated industry.

FinTech Innovation Lab APAC (FILAP) allows me to sit at the intersection of founders and institutions. I can bring a founder’s mindset into conversations with banks, insurers, and regulators — and bring institutional reality back to founders early, before mistakes become expensive. Being able to combine that perspective with the scale, network, and resources Accenture provides is incredibly powerful.

What continues to inspire me is seeing founders gain real clarity — not just confidence, but credibility. You can see the shift when they start being treated as long-term partners by financial institutions, supported by an ecosystem that genuinely wants them to succeed.

Q2. The 2026 program has seven very focused themes — from AI Enhanced Productivity and Responsible AI & Model Risk Governance to Future of Money & Payments and Insurance Transformation. Why are these themes particularly critical for the APAC financial services industry in 2026 and beyond? 

Hui Jackson

These themes came directly from deep discussions with our financial institution partners across APAC, combined with insights from our global FinTech Innovation Labs. What we’re hearing consistently is that institutions are moving beyond experimentation — the challenge now is how to scale innovation responsibly and embed it into the core business.

That’s why the themes deliberately balance innovation and foundations: AI-driven productivity alongside Responsible AI, digital assets alongside digital trust, and open ecosystems alongside security and compliance. This closely mirrors regional regulatory priorities — from the HKMA’s Fintech 2030 Blueprint to the MAS’ long-standing emphasis on responsible innovation, strong governance, and resilience as innovation scales.

APAC isn’t one market — it’s many. FILAP helps founders design with that regulatory and market complexity in mind from day one, so their solutions are not just innovative, but ready for real deployment across the region.

Q3. For those considering applying to the Lab or operating in this space, what is the single most valuable piece of advice you would give them — particularly around pitfalls to avoid?

Hui Jackson

My advice is simple: come with an open mind and be like a sponge. That’s how founders get the most out of FILAP.

One clear pitfall to avoid is treating the Lab purely as a sales channel. Coming in to hard-sell or pitch aggressively is a no-go. The real value comes from building relationships, trust, and long-term credibility — which ultimately matters far more than any short-term deal.

The mentors and financial institutions involved are here to share real, behind-the-scenes insight: how decisions are actually made, what really matters internally, and how to work effectively with large, regulated organisations. Some of our most successful alumni reshaped parts of their product, positioning, or go-to-market approach during the program — and that openness took them much further.

FILAP is best suited for founders who are curious, coachable, and serious about building institution-ready businesses, not just pitching great ideas.

Q4. The APAC alumni stats are impressive — US$1.3B in capital raised since joining the Lab, 570 proofs of concept, and 6,000 jobs created. Can you share a recent alumni success story that best illustrates the real difference the Lab makes for a growth‑stage FinTech?

Hui Jackson

I can’t share just one story — there are so many. We’ve seen founders take very different paths: CoverGo pivoted from B2C to B2B and is now growing with insurers globally; Diginex went on to a Nasdaq IPO in 2025; LeapXpert expanded from Hong Kong to Wall Street; and Libertify used FILAP as a launchpad to enter APAC from Europe.

What’s common across these stories isn’t a single business model — it’s acceleration with credibility. FILAP helps companies compress learning curves that would normally take years: understanding how financial institutions really buy, how regulators think, and what it takes to move from pilot to production.

The Lab itself has matured alongside the ecosystem. Today, FILAP is less about experimentation and more about real deployment and adoption. For growth stage fintechs, that difference is decisive — it’s the shift from being seen as an interesting startup to being trusted as a long term partner.
 

Applications are now open for FinTech Innovation Lab APAC 2026

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