Sebastian Paredes, CEO of DBS Bank Hong Kong, told the recent Corporate Innovation Summit – a day of high-level physical and virtual discussions with thought leaders and business executives offering insights into global macroeconomics, sustainability and innovation, organised by Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) – that the pandemic had increased the need for innovation and digitisation.

“Industries that were slow in innovation and digitisation had to accelerate, while companies that were on that path had to further enhance their capabilities and capacities,” he said. “Many industries were dramatically changed from physical to fully digital [such as] education, communications, health care and even banking.”

Digital innovation vital for companies

While the need to innovate is nothing new for businesses, the increased pressure to deliver this at speed has forced companies to explore all possibilities in the pursuit of transformation. Senior innovation executives, dedicated teams, technology labs and spin-off ventures, corporate accelerator programmes and collaborative computer programming hackathons have all been used to spark new ideas and ways of doing business.

“We did everything: we failed at many things, but we also succeeded at many things,” Paredes said. DBS Hong Kong had brought in consultants and technology companies to help its digitisation, while the leadership team rapidly upskilled and educated itself, created innovation units and hired new talent, he said. “We demanded change within ourselves and revamped our whole technology infrastructure and architecture – DBS Hong Kong was among the first banks anywhere to shut off a mainframe.”

The secret is to start with the basics, try all ideas and test what works and what fails, then refine and move on, he said. DBS was among the first banks in the industry to drive corporate start-up accelerators, and over time it has had to evolve into using other programmes and formats as its needs changed.

Business evolution must be approached in innovative ways, too, through the use of new platforms and the creative connections developing between companies. The summit not only highlighted the precise challenges facing companies today, but also provided insights into finding new platforms to connect with all parties in the innovation ecosystem.

“More than ever, businesses must change and adapt to stay relevant and to thrive in the new normal,” said Eugene Hsia, chief corporate development officer of HKSTP. “We need to challenge our imagination and creativity to shape a better future and to [have an] impact [on] customers’ lives in an efficient and effective manner.”

Summit promotes thriving start-up ecosystem

The summit featured presentations from industry leaders and discussions between senior executives of the region’s largest companies that have been quick to adopt innovative practices and business models.

More than 200 corporate leaders and innovators took part in the summit, which was held in tandem with Global Matching 2021, a week-long event connecting business buyers and investors with innovative deep-tech start-up ventures from around the world.

More than 220 one-on-one virtual and physical matching meetings were initiated by over 200 companies and investors. About 300 start-ups and technology ventures from 32 global economies took part, which demonstrated Hong Kong’s growing status as an international innovation and technology hub.

Collaboration, conversation and communication were the three main focuses of the summit. “HKSTP is bringing together the brightest visionaries by collectively addressing critical challenges and finding opportunities to take corporate innovation to the next level,” Hsia said.

Representatives from Human Health Holdings Limited, Kai Shing Management Services Limited and Ingram Micro (China) – three companies using innovation to develop their businesses – spoke during the summit to highlight the benefits available to corporates that closely collaborate with start-ups within the I&T ecosystem supported by HKSTP.

Edward Poon, chief operating officer of the health care services company Human Health Holdings, said the pandemic sparked a rapid transformation in the sector. Innovations such as faster diagnostics, next-generation DNA testing, nano technologies and photocatalysts have all quickly emerged and are already having an impact, he said.

“We believe such innovation will continue to emerge at this rapid rate and be further applied across health care, while we will also collaborate with biotech ventures to help develop the next wave of game-changing biotech solutions.”

Lewis Lam, Kai Shing’s deputy general manager of property management, said that innovative technology developed by start-ups can solve a wide range of modern property management challenges.

“Innovations in AI, automation, [the Internet of Things] and cloud computing are all dramatically changing [the] process and operations within property management, leading to better accuracy and efficiency around building inspections, with overall improved productivity and services,” he said.

Kai Shing has collaborated with start-ups and used AI to analyse drone images to inspect the external grounds and the outside walls of buildings to reduce the time taken in carrying out manual inspections. Robotics and automation have also supported regular sanitising processes during the pandemic and enabled better use of human resources.

Biga Luk, managing director for Hong Kong and Macau of the technology and supply chain services company Ingram Micro (China), said innovative start-ups have the potential to help tackle the problems faced by companies in a variety of industries.

“However, many start-ups lack the platform and connections to fulfill this potential, so at Ingram Micro, we are working closely with HKSTP to connect start-ups with over 3,000 distributors in our network to identify opportunities and accelerate industry adoption of game-changing technology,” she said.

These examples are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the potential innovation output that can be generated if more businesses begin to collaborate with start-ups and technology providers.

HKSTP’s hybrid summit and global matching event provided an ideal platform for key ecosystem players to interact and help businesses forge new innovative collaboration.

The rapid response to the pandemic, which has resulted in a surge in business digital transformation, shows that finding new ways to innovate must be the top priority if companies are to stay relevant and successful in today’s rapidly evolving business world.