Fred Ngan

Five years since making Bowtie a household name in Hong Kong insurance, its co-founder and co-CEO Fred Ngan has no intention of resting on any laurels

- Rick Boost

In the late 2010s, the potential of digital alternatives to everyday necessities resulted in a start-up tsunami. Riding that wave in 2018 was the launch of Bowtie, Hong Kong’s first digital insurance company.

Bowtie’s promise of approachability, convenience and low-cost financial support—bolstered by ads featuring former Hong Kong financial secretary John Tsang—made the company an instant fixture of the city’s insurance marketplace. Bowtie’s co-founder and co-CEO Fred Ngan, recognised as a maverick among established titans, was named a Gen.T honouree in 2020 and listed among Asia’s Most Influential in 2021.

Here, Ngan explains why his company embraced the physical with a brick-and-mortar clinic, how Covid-19 ignited consumer health consciousness, and what maintaining a start-up mindset means to him.