InvestHK (Invest Hong Kong) was established in the year 2000 to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and support overseas entrepreneurs to setup and expand in Hong Kong. From 23-30 January 2016, Invest HK is spearheading a week-long StartmeupHK Festival to attract global entrepreneurs to grow their business in Hong Kong. While at the festival, we’re trying to explore newer avenues that can contribute to the growth of Hong Kong’s startup ecosystem.

The right ingredients to foster the startup ecosystem

According to the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, Hong Kong’s start-up scene has experienced phenomenal growth in recent years, with more than 1,500 start-ups in the city, which is an increase of nearly 50 per cent when compared with 2014. These ventures are led by entrepreneurs, investors, corporations, universities and Government.

The Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, this morning (January 26) gives the opening remarks at the StartmeupHK Venture Forum 2016 held by Invest Hong Kong

The number of startup accelerators & incubators have surged from 3 to 40 since 2010. 43% of the startup founders in Hong Kong are from overseas including Mainland China & Taiwan which is a strong indication of Hong Kong’s global appeal to startups.

Travel Startups in Hong Kong are also attracting funding

Culturally, Hong Kong has been known as a financial destination with the presence of world’s top banks in the city. In addition, Hong Kong’s closeness to Shenzhen, a manufacturing hub, makes it a gateway for companies looking to position themselves strategically across China. Sectors like IoT, FinTech have emerged strongly and a vast number of investments are being made in these verticals indicating that value created technologies are creating a strong impact.

From Left: Klook’s Co-Founder Eric Gnock Fah with Co-Panelist at StartmeupHK festival in Hong Kong

That said, Hong Kong based travel-tech startup, Klook started about 18 months ago in the mid of 2014, had recently raised its Series A funding round of USD $5M. Klook helps customer in the travel itinerary space by enabling discounted tours & sightseeing and also enables merchants to manage their platform more efficiently with its tech solution.

It is the ideal business hub in Asia

According to Eric Gnock Fah, whose company Klook has raised funds from Hong Kong & China, “Hong Kong is a great global launch platform, especially since it is the most travelled city in the world making it conducive for travel businesses”. With Klook, their idea is to demonstrate that they can own the Hong Kong market and scale it further making it a truly global brand based out of Asia.

According to Dr Simon Galpin, Director-General of InvestHK, free inflow/outflow of information & low tax regime make Hong Kong a prime location for overseas and mainland companies to setup their operations.

Statistics indicate that over the last decade, there has been approximately 25% growth in number of companies preferring Hong Kong for managing their regional operations in Asia making it a highly attractive business location.

Dr Simon Galpin at StartmeupHK Festival 2016

Newer avenues for fund-raising are opening up

The earlier notion was that tech companies should look towards California, while for operations in China you are better off being based in Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen. Entrepreneurs used to face a challenge in educating investors that being based in Hong Kong, you can still build a global company.

A new HK $2BN government fund has been announced recently to boost funding in technology startups via a matching process. In addition, Alibaba’s HK $1BN entrepreneurs fund presents a great opportunity for travel entrepreneurs to think of new ideas that can bring in new values to a city which accounts for the world’s most travellers. Both these funds are open to ideas from foreign entrepreneurs which means that Hong Kong is looking at attracting more overseas talent to start-up in the region.

A quick look at InvestHK’s last year’s project info indicates that Tourism & Hospitality emerged as the top sector in 2015, accounting for 57 of the 375 completed projects. So if you are a budding entrepreneur, you might want to foster innovation in the travel & tourism vertical in Hong Kong as this is perhaps the most appropriate time. Also Read: Hong Kong’s 10 coolest Travel Startups.

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The travel and tourism industry is a major influencer in Hong Kong’s economy. With 270,000 people employed in this field, Hong Kong tourism industry accounts for 7.2% of the total employment. Thanks to the plethora of market opportunities, Hong Kong’s startup ecosystem has witnessed phenomenal growth over the past few years. It is one of the fastest growing startup hubs in the world.

Dr. Simon Galpin, Director-General of Investment Promotion, InvestHK

To further give a boost to this startup ecosystem, InvestHK is organising an event called StartmeupHK Festival from 23^rd to 30^th January next year. We spoke with Dr. Simon Galpin, the Director-General of Investment Promotion, InvestHK about StartmeupHK. Here is an excerpt from the conversation:

What’s the core idea behind the first ever StartmeupHK Festival?

The week-long StartmeupHK Festival from 23–30 January 2016 will see leading champions in the startup community (accelerators, corporations and associations) hold a series of thematic conferences and pitch events covering Internet of Things (IoT), financial technology (fintech), health technology and data analytics, sectors in which Hong Kong has distinct competitive advantages. This festival will provide a unique opportunity for stakeholders in the startup community locally and from overseas to connect, collaborate and do deals.

Over the years, Hong Kong’s reputation as a startup-friendly destination has risen sharply. What are the key factors that have contributed to this phenomenal growth?

When InvestHK launched the StartmeupHK initiative in 2013, the startup ecosystem in Hong Kong was just developing with only three co-working spaces/incubators (HKSTP, Cyberport and Nest). Three years on, the city has transformed into one of world’s most vibrant and fastest growing startup hubs in the world with over 45 co-working spaces, incubators and accelerators.

According to InvestHK’s latest survey completed in August this year, there has been a 46 per cent increase in the number of startups in HK in the last ten months with an increase of 56% in the number of jobs created. The number of work stations has increased by 60% since the first survey done in November 2014.

Hong Kong has a unique appeal as a startup hub. This is especially true for hardware startups, whether in the consumer device, robotics or medical device sector. Geographically, we are close to the Mainland consumer market and its manufacturing base in Shenzhen, the so-called hardware capital of the world. Founders can not only access the international and Mainland market via HK but can also enjoy the rapid prototyping, small scale manufacturing, just-in-time delivery and world class fulfilment set up just across the border.

The financial technology sector has also attracted a lot of entrepreneurs, which isn’t surprisingly considering Hong Kong is one of the world’s financial centres. The technological innovations that are being created here tend to focus on Hong Kong’s traditional strengths in financial services, for example in the trading and wealth management, security and cross border trade areas.

These startups, along with companies in other sectors, seek to leverage Hong Kong’s intrinsic business advantages and super-connector role. Add the context of a world class city in which to base, with a strong rule of law, dedicated and professional talent pool, and ease of doing business, and the figures begin to make a lot of sense.

How tough is it for overseas entrepreneurs to startup in Hong Kong? Are there any key elements that one should look at while exploring Hong Kong for starting up?

Hong Kong has one of the easiest business incorporation procedures in the world, which takes only one hour to be done online, with one director who doesn’t need to live in Hong Kong and minimal capital of only one Hong Kong dollar. It makes setting up particularly easy for entrepreneurs and allows founders to focus on their business rather than spending time on the incorporation process.

With thriving co-work spaces in Hong Kong, the cost of renting a work seat is very affordable at only about HK$2,000 a month. However, because competition is keen in Hong Kong, founders should have carefully mapped out business and cost models in order to be successful in the market. It is also the responsibility of the founders to make sure that their ventures are within the legal ambit in Hong Kong.

InvestHK’s StartmeupHK Festival will be organised between January 23 and 30, 2016

A number of partners such as Brinc are supporting the events at the week-long summit. Would you like to talk about their involvement?

As the first and only IoT specific accelerator in Hong Kong, the Brinc IoT Hub at PMQ (the former Police Married Quarters) provides top quality IOT startups with space, networking opportunities, training as well as access to world-class manufacturing supply chains and distribution networks.

As part of the StartmeupHK Festival, Launch, the consumer IoT Conference presented by Brinc, will include workshops, pitches by finalists of a global IoT start-up competition and exhibitors, and a conference with prominent speakers from Indiegogo, Samsung’s Innovation Center and Misfit, a new wearables company that pre-sold 250,000 devices in one day via Chinese e-tailer JD.com.

FF16 or Fintech Finals 2016, is being organised by fintech experts NxtBnk (or Next Bank) and Fintech HK. Both these organisations aim to collaborate with the community to drive change for the better in financial services through design, innovation and entrepreneurship.  FF16 will feature a startup village, the finals of a global fintech competition with heats in a number of cities, summits and high profile speakers.

The health tech event will be organised by AIA, alongside HKBIO, HKAPI, HKMHDIA, and in addition to showcasing the latest innovations in health technology and some of the hottest startups in this space, there will also be the final pitches by ‘emerging entrepreneurs’ in the age 8-12 age group.

KPMG, one of the Big Four consulting groups, will host the data analytics event with a special focus on e-commerce.

The event is drawing wide interest from the international media and the global startup system. What sort of expected participation are you looking at?

The Festival is expected to attract thousands of local and overseas startups, investors and business leaders to converge in Hong Kong and see the dynamism and growth of the ecosystem for themselves.  It will be a busy week for the startup community, with a range of conferences, workshops, pitch events, startup competition and social events vying for their time. Local and overseas investors can also witness the new investment opportunities HK has to offer.

Dr. Simon Galpin joined InvestHK as an Associate Director – General of Investment Promotion in 2001. His contribution in shaping the strategy and business planning process has helped establish the firm as one of the world’s leading investment promotion agencies. He is actively involved in promoting Hong Kong’s expanding start-up ecosystem. 

Also Read: Hello Startups! StartmeupHK Festival is happening in Hong Kong in January 2016

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While cities in India are struggling to provide seamless WiFi in public areas, Hong Kong has already taken leaps in this technological advancement. Hong Kong’s government and many other private and public organisations of the city have worked together to offer the best WiFi services to its residents and travellers. Currently, the city has 17,000 hotspots that are available under the Wi-Fi.HK brand, including the WiFi hotspots provided by the Hong Kong Government.

Map of Hong Kong with Technology Icons

Hong Kong’s WiFi service in public areas:

The Hong Kong government’s free WiFi service, GovWiFi, is widely available in the city. It is available at all major tourist spots like museums, public libraries, public parks, sports venues and cultural centres. A few tourist locations with hotspots include: Peak Road Garden, The Peak, Kowloon Park and Repulse Bay Beach. This facility is not available for private and commercial buildings. The Hong Kong’s government scheme was launched in 2008. In the initial days, their WiFi service operated at only 35 locations. Today, there are 3000 Free-WiFi hotspots available at 570 locations for the international travellers coming to the city. This WiFi service provides better signal coverage, enables faster data transfer and reduces signal interference and support for the latest Internet communication protocol (IPv6) for accessing websites and Internet services delivered through IPv6. There is 120-minute connection time limit and 15-minute idle time limit. Users can reconnect to continue the service after reaching these limits. The secretary for Commerce & Economic Development, Gregory So, recently said that the Government has increased the average connection speed for each GovWiFi user up to 3Mbps for general Internet use in the past three years.

GovWiFi Locator managed by the Government of Hong Kong

Hong Kong International Airport has free wireless Internet at most of the seating and public areas in the passenger terminals. No registration is required to access the internet in these locations. The metro stations in Hong Kong run ‘MTR Free WiFi Hotspot’ network for free connectivity of up to 15 minutes per session, with a maximum of five sessions for each device per day. Focusing on tourist spots, shopping malls and restaurants, WiFi services like Hong Kong Broadband Network and Y5ZONE networks are easily accessible.

To make it easier for residents and travellers to stay connected through the internet, an initiative under ‘2014 Digital 21 Strategy’ was undertaken to promote the common popular WiFi brand, “Wi-Fi.HK”, where services by several public and private sectors are offered free of cost for a certain time period. The residents and travellers can use the Wi-Fi.HK mobile app and the positioning function of their mobile phones to detect free public WiFi hotspots in their vicinity. For a broader search, they can use the app to find out hotspots by districts, venue-type or keywords.

With the wide availability of WiFi services, Hong Kong is a truly connected destination for the international travellers. The travellers can stay in touch with family and friends and share their travel experiences through texts, photos and videos without any hindrance.

Also Read: Hello Startups! STARTMEUPHK Festival is happening in Hong Kong in January 2016

Harsh reality of Government’s WiFi Projects and what India can learn from Hong Kong

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Hong Kong’s rise & rise on the world startup map has been quite astounding. The country’s developed infrastructure is a great platform for passionate entrepreneurs to setup their teams from the region. Klook.com and the relatively newer ones such as Sam the Local are few Travel Startups from Hong Kong that are doing quite well.

The much awaited StartmeupHK Festival 2016 will be hosted by Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) as part of the department’s ongoing initiative to promote the city as one of the fastest growing start-up hubs in the world.

InvestHK’s StartmeupHK Festival will be organised between January 23 and 30 2016

The festival which is being organised from January 23 and 30, 2016 will witness leading accelerators, corporates and associations hold a series of thematic conferences and pitching events covering areas such as the Internet of things (IoT), financial technology (fintech), health technology and data analytics, in which Hong Kong has a distinct competitive advantage.

This festival will attract thousands of international and local start-ups, investors and business leaders to converge in Hong Kong.

The Director-General of Investment Promotion, Dr Simon Galpin, said that InvestHK’s StartmeupHK Festival aims at showcasing the dynamism and growth of Hong Kong’s start-up ecosystem to both international and domestic audiences.

According to a latest survey by InvestHK,the number of co-working spaces and incubators in Hong Kong has topped 40 and the number of start-ups operating within these affordable premises has increased by 46 per cent in comparison to the last year.

In addition to the core events, the week will feature social mixers, roundtable discussions and investor group meet-ups in venues across Hong Kong.

More details about the StartmeupHK Festival 2016 are available on InvestHK’s dedicated start-up website www.startmeup.hk, with hyperlinks for further details of the core events. The StartmeupHK site also offers a one-stop portal to the start-up community in the city, listing the latest start-up events and signposting visitors to resources such as government funding schemes and incubation programmes.

About InvestHK

InvestHK is the Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government established in July 2000 to attract foreign direct investment and support overseas and Mainland businesses to set up or expand in Hong Kong. It provides free advice and customised services to help businesses succeed in Hong Kong’s vibrant economy. As at June 2015, InvestHK had assisted over 3,700 companies which have created more than 40,200 new jobs in the first year of operation or expansion and over HK$99 billion of investment. For more information, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk.

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