Hong Kong Smart Apps Shine in Asia Smart App Awards 2024

Hong Kong Sweeps Top Three in "Lifestyle, Social, and Entertainment" Category

Israel Wins Grand Award for Second Consecutive Year

HONG KONG, Sept. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Asia Smart App Awards 2024" (ASA) held its Award Presentation Ceremony at New World Millennium Hong Kong Hotel on 11 September 2024. Organised by the Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association (WTIA) and sponsored by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), the ASA is well supported by partners from 16 other Asian countries/ regions as co-organisers. The ASA is dedicated to recognising the outstanding achievements of industry professionals in the smart app industry across Asia. It also provides an excellent networking platform for local smart app industry professionals and their counterparts in the region, with the aim to fostering the growth and development of the smart app industry, while encouraging Hong Kong's cultural and creative industries to strengthen the use of smart apps in combination of technology to expand room for development. 

The Israeli company Vitalerter Ltd, developer of the Vitalerter app, which won the prestigious "Asia Smart App Awards 2024" Grand Award, also took home the Gold Award in the "Public Sector and Social Innovation Enterprise Category". The app provides continuous monitoring for bedridden individuals using a non-contact wireless sensor that transmits data in real-time to an AI system for analysis. When the system detects a potential danger, it immediately alerts on-duty nursing staff via mobile phone.

Hong Kong contestants demonstrated outstanding performance in the 2024 edition of the ASA, particularly in the "Lifestyle and Entertainment Category". Blua Health by Bupa (Asia) Limited won the Gold Award and the "Special Mention Award – Best UX/UI Design." Blua Health is Hong Kong's first AI-powered, one-stop health app, allowing users to assess their health status anytime, anywhere, guide their healthy lifestyle, and earn reward points. The Silver Award went to the Solos AirGo App, which enhances the smart glasses experience by integrating AI-driven conversations, translation, fitness tracking, and health monitoring, boosting productivity and well-being. The Bronze Award was won by the O+O MetaEvent Hub, which connects online and offline activities, enabling remote participants to engage in exhibitions and seminars through virtual avatars. The AI chatbot provides 24/7 service and analyses visitor behaviour to help optimise future events.

In the "Business and Commercial Category", the Gold Award went to AIM, Korea's first AI-driven investment app, offering top-tier personal investment advisory services. Users can quickly open accounts and receive expert advice from the AI algorithm "Esther" to invest in global markets. The app has served 70,000 users and manages $1 billion in assets. Other finalists in the three categories came from Israel, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, and Vietnam.

This year marks the 10th edition of the ASA. Since its inception in 2013, the competition has received over 1,300 smart app entries from across Asia, making it a prestigious and widely recognised event in the industry. It has become an annual highlight of the smart app industry in Asia. This edition, the ASA returns with the theme "AppAIchemy: Chapter 10 of ASA Saga", highlighting the vibrant development of smart app across various fields including artificial intelligence (AI). The WTIA is pleased to continue collaborating with 16 co-organisers from various Asian countries and regions, including Mainland China, Israel, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar, to bring this timely event to further foster the growth of the burgeoning smart app sector in Asia. This edition's ASA Award Presentation Ceremony and Summit took place on 11 September, bringing together the elites of the Asian smart app industry with the aim of promoting cooperation and development through exchanges and discussions, and driving innovation and the wider application of smart apps.

Officiating at this edition's award presentation ceremony, Mrs. Lowell Cho, Assistant Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries congratulated all the winners and encouraged Hong Kong's cultural and creative industries to leverage technology to drive industry development.

Keith Li, Chairman of the WTIA, also expressed during the award presentation ceremony, "It is with great pride and satisfaction that we commemorate the tenth anniversary of this prestigious Asian event. For this milestone edition, we have once again convened distinguished industry experts from 16 other Asian countries and regions here in Hong Kong, underscoring the international significance of this occasion. This edition's theme centred on the exponential advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), and the competing smart apps have aptly demonstrated their capacity to drive rapid innovation and transform industry paradigms across diverse sectors. I am particularly impressed by the exceptional innovation and technical acumen displayed by all contestants. Among them, the finalists deserve special commendation, with their tireless efforts and ingenuity duly recognised and rewarded. The ASA not only celebrates technological achievement but also reinforces Hong Kong's position as a hub for innovation in the smart app industry across Asia. We look forward to witnessing the continued growth and impact of these groundbreaking technologies in shaping our future."

The ASA 2024 has three award categories: Public Sector and Social Innovation Category, Business and Commercial Category, and Lifestyle and Entertainment Category. The gold winners of each award category were further assessed to determine the winner of "Asia Smart App Grand Award", which was presented to Vitalerter Ltd.

The two special mention awards introduced in this edition, namely the Special Mention Award – The Best Start-up and the Special Mention Award – The Best UX/UI Design, were open to teams from Hong Kong and the 16 participating countries or regions, aiming to recognise innovative applications from start-ups and applications demonstrating excellence in user experience and interface design. ReCube Limited from Hong Kong won the Best Start-up Award with their application "ReCube", which allows users to easily borrow and return reusable tableware at partner restaurants, while encouraging environmental protection through a points system, thereby promoting sustainable development in the community. As for the Best UX/UI Design Award, a smart app from another Hong Kong company, Bupa (Asia) Limited's Blua Health outshone its competitors by utilising AI technology to provide personalised health management advice so that users can conduct health assessments anytime, anywhere through the app, and cultivate healthy lifestyle habits through a points reward system.

The lists of the Asia Smart App Awards 2024's awardees* are as follows:

Asia Smart App Grand Award

Awardee: Israeli - Vitalerter (Vitalerter Ltd)

Public Sector and Social Innovation Category:

Gold Award – Israeli - Vitalerter (Vitalerter Ltd) Silver Award – Indonesia - paperless (PT Digital Kreasi Muslim) Bronze Award – Indonesia - Silang App (Silang.id)

Business and Commercial Category:

Gold Award – Korea - AIM (AIM Inc.) Silver Award – Vietnam - Store Optimizer (Palexy Company Limited) Bronze Award – Malaysia - Agmo EV Super App (Agmo Holdings Limited)

Lifestyle and Entertainment Category:

Gold Award – Hong Kong - Blua Health (Bupa (Asia) Limited) Silver Award – Hong Kong - Solos AirGo App (Solos Technology Limited) Bronze Award – Hong Kong - O+O Meta Event Hub (Chef Digital Limited)

Special Mention Award–The Best Start up

Awardee: ReCube, ReCube Limited (Hong Kong)

Special Mention Award–The Best UX/UI design

Awardee: Blua Health, Bupa (Asia) Limited (Hong Kong)

*Further details and full winner lists (including the list of Certificate of Merit winners) of each category of "Asia Smart App Awards 2024" are available on official website at https://bestasiaapp.hk. 

The Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association (WTIA) organises the Asia Smart App Awards (ASA) 2024, the 10th edition following the success of past editions, with funding support from the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA). The ASA is dedicated to recognising the contributions of industry insiders to the smart app industry, provide a networking platform for smart app industry professionals from Hong Kong to other Asian countries and regions, encouraging growth and development of the industry.

The WTIA remains committed to enhancing the reach of these awards across Asia, bolstering the development of the local smart app industry, and facilitating local smart app talent in business expansion. The awards have drawn participants from an increasing number of Asian countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, Israel, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, India, Cambodia, and Bangladesh.

In addition to the "Asia Smart App Awards 2024" Award Presentation Ceremony, the Asia Smart App Summit was held on the same day. The Summit convened expert representatives from 17 Asian countries and regions to engage in discussions about trending topics.

The organiser express its gratitude to the CCIDA for the funding and to all the partners, supporting organisations, and speakers for their strong support. The highlights of all events of the ASA 2024 will be uploaded to https://contest2024.bestasiaapp.hk/  for review.

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About the Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association

The Wireless Technology Industry Association (WTIA), established in 2001, is a not-for profit, politically-neutral trade association dedicated to the wireless and mobile industry. The WTIA acts as a platform, an aggregator, and a community for industry professionals to learn and drive emerging wireless and mobile technologies, governance, and standards. It facilitates networking between like-minded professionals, boost interoperability between networks and devices, and strives to help all organisations apply these technologies to existing or new businesses. The WTIA also represents and is supported by digital industries pertaining to mobile such as digital entertainment, digital marketing & media, and start-up sectors. To know more about the WTIA, please visit http://www.hkwtia.org. 

About the Asia Smart App Awards (ASA)

The Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association (WTIA) organises the Asia Smart App Awards (ASA) 2024, the 10th edition following the success of past editions, with funding support from the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA). By uniting 16 co-organisers from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Israel, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mainland China, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, in addition to Hong Kong, the ASA carries this auspicious occasion to further encourage the development of the expanding smart app industry. For more details about the ASA, please visit www.bestasiaapp.hk.

About the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency

The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) established in June 2024, formerly known as Create Hong Kong (CreateHK), is a dedicated office set up by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau to provide one-stop services and support to the cultural and creative industries with a mission to foster a conducive environment in Hong Kong to facilitate the development of arts, culture and creative sectors as industries. Its strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, promoting cross-sectoral and cross-genre collaboration, promoting the development of arts, culture and creative sectors as industries under the industry-oriented principle, and promoting Hong Kong as Asia's creative capital and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community to implement Hong Kong's positioning as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange under the National 14th Five-Year Plan. CCIDA's website: www.ccidahk.gov.hk.