HK entrepreneur brings smart sanitation solutions to mainland

Wong Ka-wai pose for a photo with a disinfection robot developed by Rice Robotics, a partner of Wong’s company. Courtesy of the interviewee 

Wong Ka-Wai, who has successfully helped many of his Hong Kong customers improve their indoor air quality and safely sanitize indoor spaces, said he wanted to promote his IoT-based smart sanitation solutions to the mainland. Thus, last year, he established his company’s branch in Qianhai.

Wong majored in accounting at the City University of Hong Kong and opened his own accounting firm in Hong Kong. After he found that an innovative disinfecting fluid invented by a Ph.D. researcher client has great market potential, Wong invited the researcher as a technical adviser and integrated IoT technology to the invention, starting up another business in the health industry.

“Our smart sanitation system can automatically sanitize large spaces without any human intervention. During sanitation, people don’t have to leave the enclosed space as the disinfectant is totally harmless to the human body. This feature makes our product quite popular in many nursing homes in Hong Kong that were seriously affected by Hong Kong’s fifth wave of COVID-19,” he said, adding that their disinfectant spray products can effectively inactivate the novel coronavirus, according to a testing report issued by the Canada-based University of British Columbia.

So far, Wong’s products have been adopted by some well-known clients such as Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd. and Metro Plaza, as well as over 100 Hong Kong schools.

“The mainland’s larger market size and numerous favorable policies in Qianhai are two major factors for me to choose Qianhai as my steppingstone to the mainland market. Its industrial chain is complete and it’s easier to recruit technical talents here. In addition, the ZebraS startup accelerator will introduce some suitable resources for our company,” Wong said.

Wong’s products have been recognized by several mainland clients, including Logan Group, a company listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

The Hong Kong government proposed the Clean Air Plan for Hong Kong 2035, to lead Hong Kong as a more livable city with air quality on par with major international cities by 2035. The plan’s proposal made Wong confident in his products’ future in Hong Kong.