Gerontech Funding in Hong Kong for Care Providers and NGOs
The Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care, run by the Social Welfare Department, is the main funding route for care providers adopting gerontechnology in Hong Kong, alongside the SIE Fund Gerontechnology Platform and the GIES expo. Each route publishes its own rules, window and ceilings, and each names a different eligible applicant.
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A care provider has to read several funds and platforms before it can apply for gerontech money. Generated illustration. No real person is depicted.
On this page
- Why gerontech adoption in Hong Kong needs a funding route
- Hong Kong gerontechnology funding routes compared
- What the Social Welfare Department fund covers and how an application is assessed
- What the Gerontechnology Platform offers a provider or a supplier
- What a supplier needs to show a care provider
- Records a funded provider must keep
- Common questions
Why gerontech adoption in Hong Kong needs a funding route
The Social Welfare Department states that the Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care was set up in December 2018 with $1 billion, with a further $1 billion injected in 2024-25. The AI care systems section covers the product side.
Hong Kong gerontechnology funding routes compared
The table separates the routes by applicant, what each pays for, the support terms and the governing document, at the version in force on 14 October 2026.
| Route | Who may apply | What it pays for | Support terms | Source document |
|---|
| I&T Fund: procurement and rental of technology products | NGOs and private organisations receiving Department subvention or subsidies for subsidised elderly or rehabilitation services; non-subsidised residential care homes since Tranche 8 (September 2022) | Technology products, staff training on using them, and warranty or maintenance | A ceiling per service unit by type and capacity; payment normally on a reimbursement basis | I&T Fund Manual (July 2026); Annex 2.3 (July 2026) |
| I&T Fund: lending for home use | Subvented units providing non-residential care services, such as day centres; joint applications accepted | Products lent to elderly persons, persons with disabilities or carers for home use, plus training and warranty | Maximum $200,000 per application, outside the unit's own ceiling and open throughout the year | I&T Fund Manual (July 2026), section 2.5 |
| I&T Fund: trial use of newly developed products | Elderly and rehabilitation service units receiving subsidies from the Department | Trial use with a research and development company as working partner, plus training and overhead up to 15% | Ceiling of $5 million per application; testing within less than one year of approval; 5% retained until the final report | I&T Fund Manual (July 2026), section 3.3 |
| Gerontechnology Platform | Care providers and technology suppliers working with the sector | No purchase of products: a knowledge hub, capacity building, consultancy, localisation and testing support, and impact assessment | Run by a coalition led by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, appointed by the SIE Fund in 2020 | SIE Fund, Gerontechnology Platform pages |
| GIES expo and summit | The sector, the public and exhibitors accepted through the call for applications | No funding: a showcase and conference route | Online summit 29 and 30 October 2026; expo 17 to 20 December 2026 | gies.hk, Innovation Expo cum Summit 2026 |
What the Social Welfare Department fund covers and how an application is assessed
Eligible applicants are non-governmental organisations and private organisations receiving subventions or subsidies from the Department for subsidised elderly or rehabilitation services, and procurement and rental also cover non-subsidised residential care homes.
A grant is used in three ways: to procure or rent a product, to lend a product for home use, or to trial a newly developed product. Home-use lending, relevant to a personal emergency link service, is in Chapter 2 of the Manual.
The ceiling schedule of July 2026 gives a residential care home for the elderly or nursing home with more than 150 beds a maximum grant of $1,350,000, one with 51 to 150 beds $900,000 and one with 50 beds or below $450,000, for units that began service before 31 March 2025; units beginning later have $900,000, $600,000 and $300,000 respectively.
The Manual lists the assessment criteria: feasibility, sustainability and cost-effectiveness of the products; benefits to service users and care staff; and the applicant's ability to use them.
- Check that the service unit is eligible on the closing date; Tranche 13 required a unit to remain subvented or subsidised on 13 July 2026.
- Read the guidance note for the route: Annex 2.2(a), Annex 2.2(b) or Annex 3.2.
- Send the completed form, Annex 2.1(a) to 2.1(e) or Annex 3.1, to the Secretariat of the Fund at the Department.
- Expect a technical assessment through the Expert Group coordinated by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service for products not on the Reference List.
- The Assessment Panel assesses the application against the criteria, and the Director of Social Welfare approves on its advice.
Tranche 13 ran from 13 April 2026 to 13 July 2026 at 5:00pm. Trial use and lending applications are open all year, and on 14 October 2026 the procurement and rental forms were not open for application.
The SIE Fund describes the Gerontechnology Platform as its second flagship project, run by a coalition of ten organisations led by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, which the Fund appointed as intermediary in 2020, with HK$47,707,541 in approved funding over 40 months.
Its four stated functions are a knowledge hub, network and capacity building, consultancy, localisation and testing support, and impact assessment. It is not an equipment fund.
GIES, the Gerontech and Innovation Expo cum Summit, is jointly hosted by the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. GIES 2026 runs an online summit on 29 and 30 October 2026 and an expo from 17 to 20 December 2026, and Agetide covers it on its GIES 2026 page.
What a supplier needs to show a care provider
The Manual sets an ambit test: a product should facilitate rehabilitation, prevent fall risk, reduce pressure on care staff, directly hook up with technology, and sit outside common furniture lists. The fall detection technology guide covers one such category.
The Manual requires the organisation to undertake that products have passed all required certifications and comply with the Ordinances named in it, such as the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance (Cap. 459), and the Department publishes points to note on safety standard documents.
Expect to supply the quotation behind the quotation record sheet, training, and warranty or maintenance terms, because the Fund may cover training and warranty for a maximum of five years. Items on the Reference List of Recognised Technology Application Products are accepted.
The grant is paid to the provider, not the supplier, which runs its own procurement process under Chapter 5 of the Manual. Nothing here states that a supplier or product is approved, funded, certified or verified, and suppliers can list on Agetide.
Records a funded provider must keep
The Manual requires an assets register, inventory record or rented items record, and books of account kept for at least seven years after the project ends, open to inspection by the Department and the Audit Commission.
Payment is normally on a reimbursement basis, with a claim certificate and quotation record sheet for each claim. Purchases should normally be completed within four months of approval with the claim within one month after that, rental claims within two months after the contract ends, and a trial use project started within three months of approval.
Where the aggregate of rental projects paid on a non-reimbursement basis and trial use projects is $200,000 or less, statements certified by the head of the organisation or the board chairman are required; above $200,000, audited statements from a certified public accountant are required.
Where to read the current terms before applying
The version current on the date of application governs, and the documents are reissued with new dates. The operative numbers sit in the I&T Fund Manual (July 2026) and Annex 2.3, while the Fund's own page carries the tranche news, forms and the Reference List in its October 2025 version.
Common questions
Who can apply to the fund?
Non-governmental organisations and private organisations receiving subventions or subsidies from the Social Welfare Department for subsidised elderly or rehabilitation services may apply. Procurement and rental have covered non-subsidised private and self-financing residential care homes since Tranche 8 in September 2022.
How much can a care home receive?
It depends on the type of unit and its capacity. The ceiling schedule of July 2026 sets a maximum grant of $1,350,000 for a residential care home for the elderly or nursing home with more than 150 beds that began service before 31 March 2025, $900,000 for 51 to 150 beds and $450,000 for 50 beds or fewer.
Is this the only funding route for gerontech?
No. The Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care pays for products, while the SIE Fund's Gerontechnology Platform offers a knowledge hub, capacity building, consultancy, localisation and testing support, and impact assessment rather than equipment grants. GIES is a showcase route, not a fund.
Topics
- gerontechnology
- funding
- social welfare department
- care homes
- hong kong
Related on Agetide
Related guides
Sources
- Social Welfare Department, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care, News, Introduction, Eligibility, Submission of Application (Procurement, Rental and Lending of Technology Product), Guidelines and Reference. https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/pubsvc/rehab/cat_fundtrustfinaid/itfund. Published: 2026. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- Social Welfare Department, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care Manual (July 2026), Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 2 Procurement and Rental of Innovative Technology Products; Chapter 3 Trial Use of Newly Developed Technology Products; Chapter 4 Financial Reporting Requirement. https://www.swd.gov.hk/storage/asset/section/1222/en/I%26T_Fund_Manual_Eng_Jul26.pdf. Published: 2026. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- Social Welfare Department, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Annex 2.3 Maximum Grant by Type of Service Unit (Revised July 2026), Table 1 Elderly Services; Note 1; Note 2. https://www.swd.gov.hk/storage/asset/section/1222/en/Annex2_3-Maximum_Grant_Jul26.pdf. Published: 2026. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund. Gerontechnology Platform in Hong Kong, Intermediary; Our Journey on Promoting Gerontechnology. https://www.sie.gov.hk/en/what-we-do/gerontech.html. Published: 2025. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund. Gerontechnology Platform, Grantee; Approved Funding Amount; Funding Period; Status. https://www.sie.gov.hk/en/what-we-do/capacity-building/gerontech_platformd41d.html. Published: 2025. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- Gerontech and Innovation Expo cum Summit. Gerontech and Innovation Expo cum Summit 2026, About Us. https://gies.hk/en. Published: 2026. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- Gerontech and Innovation Expo cum Summit. GIES 2026 General Information, Admission and Opening Hours. https://gies.hk/en/site/info. Published: 2026. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
Written and edited by the desk collective The Longlight Desk. No individual is named as the author. Agetide editorial standards.
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