Tag: express

HONG KONG, Nov 30, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) announces the launch of Entrepreneur Day, a three-day (30 November to 2 December) event with the theme of 'Balance Beyond the Boom'. Packed with a hybrid mix of online and physical seminars and exhibitions, the event explores a diverse range of developments in the global entrepreneurial ecosystem. Through forums, exhibitions, workshops, and networking events in the "Start-up Arena", industry leaders, experts, start-ups and participants learn how to achieve business success in the post-pandemic world. The first-ever "Start-up Express International" will also be held on 1 December bringing together local and international start-ups to exchange views and share experience, as well as encourage overseas expansion.Organised by HKTDC, Entrepreneur Day began today. Margaret Fong, Executive Director of the HKTDC, delivered the welcoming remarks.During the seminar, "T-Chat - Global VC Investment: Rise or Fall", Eric Manlunas, Founder & Managing Partner of Wavemaker Partners, Duncan Chiu, Council Member (Technology and Innovation) of HKSAR Legislative Council, and Karena Belin, Co-founder of AngelHub & WHub, provided their outlook for the global venture capital market next year.The "Start-up Zone" and "The Boosters" showcased over 30 start-ups and start-up supporting companies.Welcoming participants to the event, Margaret Fong, Executive Director of the HKTDC, said: "We are delighted to host Entrepreneur Day in hybrid format for the first time. The pandemic has caused considerable disruption to market economies across the world. It has also hit entrepreneurs hard. Yet, I am encouraged by the new and emerging opportunities entrepreneurs are seizing, including in the digital economy. Indeed, entrepreneurs are the heartbeat of our global economy. Just like the pandemic, they disrupt the status quo. They challenge convention to enable progress. They accelerate innovation and economic growth across the globe.""Under the theme 'Balance Beyond the Boom', we will explore the trajectory of the global start-up ecosystem since the start-up boom and help start-ups gain a foothold in key markets, especially the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. To celebrate the Start-up Express's 5th anniversary, we will launch its international series on Entrepreneur Day, when outstanding overseas early-stage start-ups will be invited to share the stage with Start-up Express winners."Charting the way forward with advice from expertsEntrepreneur Day featured several seminars beginning with "T-Chat - Global VC Investment: Rise or Fall?". According to data from Dealroom, venture capital firms invested more than $675 billion in start-ups worldwide in 2021 or double the amount from the previous year. However, global capital markets have seen heightened volatility this year despite the fading impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eric Manlunas, Founder & Managing Partner of Wavemaker Partners, Duncan Chiu, Council Member (Technology and Innovation) of HKSAR Legislative Council, and Karena Belin, Co-founder of AngelHub & WHub, reviewed their investments in 2022 and shared their outlook for the global venture capital market next year. They also offered advice on how entrepreneurs can better equip themselves to raise funds in a potentially difficult environment.Eric Manlunas said: "Despite the uncertainties of the current macro environment, global venture capital is here to stay, given the social utility it provides. Venture capital is a strong catalyst for innovation and business formation, thus its purpose is more compelling than ever [before], in spite of the current macroeconomic challenges".Duncan Chiu said: "Keep tracking talents. Talents attract talents. Fintech is not just [about] technologies, but still has to comply with international regulations".In a fast-changing world, start-ups need to be able to adapt to a dynamic environment while still being cautious about funding. The "Capture Funds at Critical Times" workshop featured Mingles Tsoi, Chief eXploration Officer of ParticleX, who has guided local and international technology start-ups through the challenges of fundraising, and Brian Tsui, Co-Founder of the Chicago Booth Angels Network, who shared their personal experience and advise to start-ups on their fundraising strategies and planning.Enhancing customer experience with NFTs to create business opportunitiesWith non-fungible tokens (NFTs) becoming the talk of the town, Lucas Cheung, Managing Partner of leading Asian brand technology firm Gusto Collective, and Nick Lau, founder of digital luxury Web3 platform WEAR, shared their insights on the application of NFTs in the entertainment and fashion space. Cheung discussed how his company has enhanced brand value and opened doors to new opportunities through immersive customer experiences. Lau shared how WEAR has integrated physical products with digital collectibles and the company's successful collaborations with world-renowned brands.Propelling re-industrialization of Hong Kong - the springboard to the GBAWith a mature ecosystem for start-ups to thrive in, Hong Kong is well-known for its business-friendly environment and for incubating outstanding enterprises. In the panel discussion "Entrepreneurship in HK - Scaling up through Hong Kong", previous winners of the Start-up Express competition shared their experience of starting a business in the city. The panel discussion involved Justin Chan, CEO & Co-Founder of Gense Technologies, KK Chiu, Co-Founder & CEO of Zeek, and Mazing Lee, Co-Founder & CEO of Lify Company Limited.The 12th World SME Summit, co-organised by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Businesses, celebrated the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and aimed to facilitate re-industrialisation in Hong Kong. The summit had the theme of "Achieving re-industrialisation through innovation in the new era" with discussions considering ways to expedite Hong Kong's re-industrialisation efforts. In the session, Herbert Chia, Venture Partner of Sequoia Capital China, pinpointed the benefits of applying innovative technology from an investor's perspective.Turning waste into gold for a circular economyWith investors increasingly looking to support the recycling sector, Shrikanth Narasimha, Director of Sustainability and Supply Chain, Far East, Mainetti (HK) Limited, detailed the development of closed-loop recycling of plastic materials and the use of blockchain in the recycling process. Meanwhile, Rachel Barr, Vice President of Sustainability from the Israeli start-up UBQ Materials, shared the firm's work to transform domestic waste into plastic products in collaboration with Mainetti (HK), while Ricci Wong, Founder and CEO of social enterprise HK Timberbank, explained how his start-up helps sort, cut, and dry damaged trees, recycling them into commercial timber and furniture.Exhibiting innovations from emerging industriesThe Entrepreneur Day exhibition also gathered more than 130 start-ups showcasing innovative products and technology as well as support services for the start-up ecosystem. The exhibition helped participants find business opportunities, secure professional advice and connect with potential business partners. The "Start-up Zone" showcased start-ups from a wide array of industry verticals ranging from medical and biotechnology products, green and food technology, to fintech and edtech. "The Boosters" featured organisations and government bodies supporting start-ups with the latest market insights and consulting services.Start-up Express International - Fostering connections between local and global start-upsTo mark the 5th anniversary of "Start-up Express", a start-up incubation programme, the HKTDC will launch "Start-up Express International" tomorrow during Entrepreneur Day 2022 where ten international start-ups from countries including Belgium, Mainland China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States with diverse technology backgrounds like health, education, smart cities, and agriculture, to blockchain, robo-technology, and marketing, will share their experiences together with the local winners of Start-up Express.The HKTDC selected 30 international start-ups before choosing the final ten. Among those 30 international firms, many of which have won awards in the Mainland and overseas, are InxMed, a biotech company in Mainland China working on developing innovative therapies for tumour resistance and metastasis; inConAlert, a German healthtech company offering a wearable medical sensor; Mobbi, an Italian technology start-up that introduced the world's first portable power bank rental app; and SynCom Agritech, a Japanese agritech start-up. They all hope to contribute to solving livelihood, social and environmental problems through innovative business ideas and new technology.The top 10 winners of the competition were: inContAlert from Germany, Contents.com from Italy, Closer Inc. from Japan, VegeSense; KnowCarbon; InxMed from Mainland China, OTECH (Otsuka Technology) from Singapore, AON from South Korea, MOBIQU from Turkey, and rThreat from the United States. The winning start-ups will gain access to marketing and technical support, as well as consulting services and concessionary rents by HKTDC, helping them set up a business presence in Hong Kong.rThreat, one of the winning start-ups, said: "We would like to thank HKTDC for arranging Start-up Express International as it has allowed us a chance to learn from our peers from around the globe, establish business relationships and explore potential business partners."The judging panel for Start-up Express International this year comprised Fred Li, Executive Director at Gobi Partners, Francis Pun, Promotions and Community Development Lead at Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, and Clara Hong, Senior Manager of Ecosystem Development at Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited.Alongside Entrepreneur Day, the Business Intellectual Property of Asia Forum will be held from tomorrow to 2 December, serving as an ideal platform for global IP experts and business leaders to investigate the latest trends in the Asian IP market and look for opportunities.Exhibition and Forum Website- Entrepreneur Day: https://eday.hktdc.com/conference/eday/en- Start-up Express International: https://portal.hktdc.com/startupexpress/en/s/start-up-express-international- Photo download: https://bit.ly/3VI4VGhAbout HKTDC The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn.Media enquiriesPlease contact Hill+Knowlton Strategies:Joyce Kwong, Tel: +852 6842 5929, Email: joyce.kwong@hkstrategies.comNannerl Yau, Tel: +852 6846 7888, Email: nannerl.yau@hkstrategies.comHKTDC's Communications & Public Affairs Department:Clayton Lauw, Tel: +852 2584 4472, Email: clayton.y.lauw@hktdc.orgJanet Chan, Tel: +852 2584 4369, Email: janet.ch.chan@hktdc.orgSunny Ng, Tel: +852 2584 4357, Email: sunny.sl.ng@hktdc.org Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

HONG KONG, Jun 15, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - The fifth edition of Start-up Express, an entrepreneurship development programme organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), came to a successful conclusion today. The Pitching Final, which was streamed live, saw 10 winning start-ups selected from a total of 20 shortlisted companies. The "My Favourite Start-up Award", decided through live online polling, was awarded to Good Food Technologies, while the newly added ESG Award went to i2Cool in recognition of its sustainable and socially efficient business solution. The 10 winning teams will participate in a series of local and international events to develop their businesses by building connections, exploring markets, seeking partners and enhancing brand awareness.The Start-up Express Pitching Final winners pictured together with the judging panel and special guests. Ben Cheng, Managing Partner, C Ventures; Jason Chiu, Chairman, Hong Kong Start-up Council; Stephen Liang, Assistant Executive Director, HKTDC; Raymond Yung, Vice Chairman, AMTD Group; and Arshad Chowdhury, Managing Partner, Betatron Venture Group [back row, L-R]The distinguished judging panel witnessed the rise of the latest cohort of Start-up Express winnersRenowned stand-up comedian Vivek Mahbubani was the event's host, taking the opportunity to chat with entrepreneurs from some of the participating start-upsStephen Liang, HKTDC Assistant Executive Director, said: "As the pandemic situation gradually begins to ease, innovative business models and ideas will become a new stimulus for the economy in post-pandemic times. The enrolment for Start-up Express 2022 reflected the great enthusiasm of Hong Kong's entrepreneurs, with 20 shortlisted start-ups coming from a broader spectrum of fields than ever before, including arts tech, green tech, health tech, prop tech, fintech, smart city tech, edtech, food tech and others. Over the past four years, the programme has nurtured 40 start-ups and the HKTDC continues to pass on the spirit of entrepreneurship in Hong Kong, assisting local start-ups in growing their businesses to the next level. At the same time, we strive to create a sustainable and international entrepreneurial ecosystem."Diverse opportunities offered to winning start-upsPitching Final contestants presented their innovative business ideas and responded to questions raised by a distinguished panel of judges as well as the online audience. This year's judging panel comprised Raymond Yung, Vice Chairman, AMTD Group; Jason Chiu, Chairman, Hong Kong Start-up Council; Andrew Young, Associate Director (Innovation), Sino Group; Ben Cheng, Managing Partner, C Ventures; and Arshad Chowdhury, Managing Partner, Betatron Venture Group. The 10 winning start-ups are: Allklear Health, Beth Bioinformatics, Calioo Technologies, Custonomy Company, EggLogics, Flow, Good Food Technologies, i2Cool, MixCare Health and PONS.ai (click here https://tinyurl.com/2p8kvfxs to download the list of winners and their company profiles). The HKTDC will arrange a series of exposure opportunities through which the winning teams can interact with buyers and investors.Outstanding presentations at Pitching FinalAMTD Group was the exclusive Strategic Partner of Start-up Express for the fourth consecutive year. Calvin Choi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AMTD Group and Founder of AMTD IDEA, shared his thoughts on the contest, saying that all the contestants presented extraordinary business ideas. "This is the fourth year that AMTD has supported HKTDC's Start-up Express as an exclusive Strategic Partner. The wide range of start-ups participating in this year's Pitching Final continue to innovate and develop in a more diverse and contemporary way. In particular, we saw more start-ups coming from art tech, food tech and other emerging areas this year, which shows that local start-ups are market-sensitive, quick to respond to the direction and dynamics of emerging industries, as well as reactive to rising trends and fads of the times," Mr Choi said.Noting that local businesses across different sectors had been affected by the pandemic, he added: "It is encouraging to see Hong Kong start-ups remaining active despite the difficulties and on the lookout for opportunities under the new normal. Government policies and the social environment have been very supportive of start-ups, too. I am confident that if local start-ups can continue their efforts, stay flexible and be determined to find unique opportunities in the new normal, they can definitely stand out from their competitors in an ever-changing business environment and find a sustainable way forward."The "SpiderNet Start-up Award", established to recognise the top performer selected by AMTD in the Pitching Final, was awarded to EggLogics. The award aims to provide the winner with an exclusive opportunity to access the resources and network of the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem. The winner will benefit greatly in terms of its future business development and at the same time create synergies with other entrepreneurs within the ecosystem.Jason Chiu, Chairman of the Hong Kong Start-up Council and a member of this year's judging panel, said: "It is my pleasure to be on the judging panel again this year. There is tremendous competition in this year's contest. All the start-up teams used their innovative mindsets to deliver exceptional pitches and shone through, highlighting the fact that local tech talents are extremely capable. I am confident that Start-up Express will serve as a springboard for the winning teams to access more opportunities. They can leverage this platform to expand their business network, explore markets in Mainland China especially the Greater Bay Area and overseas, and take their business to the next level."Start-up Express boosts brand awareness and network expansionStart-up Express provides start-ups with the chance to promote their business ideas and enhance their brand awareness while connecting with investors and industry leaders, as well as acquiring business know-how from industry experts. Calvin Cheng, founder and CEO of Wizpresso which was a winner in the 2021 Start-up Express, said: "With the assistance provided by the HKTDC, we gained a lot of exposure that helped greatly with our brand promotion. We also had the chance to participate in international trade fairs to connect with potential clients. These are the kind of valuable opportunities open to Start-up Express winners."Logistics platform Zeek, another winning team at last year's Pitching Final, has successfully established a presence in Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and other markets. KK Chiu, CEO of Zeek, said the company was able to grow its business connections by meeting with different businesses under the coordination of the HKTDC. Through HKTDC-organised local and overseas events, it also gained the opportunity to promote its brand to other local and international businesses.Start-up Express International Edition launches in DecemberThe HKTDC has always given its full support to Hong Kong's entrepreneurial ecosystem, helping to maintain the city's status as a competitive business centre and hub for innovation. In celebration of the fifth anniversary of Start-up Express, the first International Edition of the contest will be held this December as part of HKTDC Entrepreneur Day. Winning teams from Hong Kong will compete with outstanding start-ups from Mainland China, USA, the UK, Germany, Israel, Japan, Korea, Singapore and other countries and regions. Winners in the International Edition will be offered comprehensive assistance to enter the Hong Kong market and explore opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area via the Hong Kong platform.Start-up Express website: https://portal.hktdc.com/startupexpress/en/Photo download: https://bit.ly/3HnvEBWAbout HKTDC The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedInMedia enquiriesPlease contact HKTDC's Communications & Public Affairs Department:Clayton Lauw, Tel: +852 2584 4472, Email: clayton.y.lauw@hktdc.org Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)