Hong Kong Attracts Start-Up Entrepreneurs

Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) has announced the launch of its StartmeupHK Venture Program 2013 to attract local and overseas entrepreneurs to set up or expand their business in Hong Kong.

Victoria Peak HongKong

Picture courtesy of Tietew

InvestHK, the Government department established in July 2000 to take responsibility for foreign direct investment, and to support overseas and Mainland Chinese businesses that want establish themselves or expand in Hong Kong, has set up the Venture Program that features a global competition for innovative and high-impact entrepreneurs, culminating in December this year when 12 shortlisted finalists will be provided with access to business partners, financial capital, market knowledge and marketing opportunities.

The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Gregory So, said: “Make no mistake, start-ups and entrepreneurs make significant contributions to Hong Kong. What InvestHK is doing to promote Hong Kong as a premier start-up destination in Asia and attract start-up entrepreneurs will help build the city’s start-up ecosystem – an ecosystem where overseas and local entrepreneurs can meet, exchange ideas, discover synergies and access markets, capital and talent together.”

Simon Galpin, the Director-General of Investment Promotion, confirmed that, in the past two to three years, InvestHK has seen a rising number of entrepreneurs setting up business in Hong Kong. The percentage of such projects in InvestHK’s portfolio has risen from less than 10 percent to over 15 percent in 2013.

“These businesses may start small and employ only a few people in the beginning, but they also create jobs through outsourcing some of their activities to local service providers. In fact, some of these businesses grow very quickly, employing 50 or more people within one to two years,” he added. “And just as, if not more, important are the innovative business ideas and skills they bring to Hong Kong, which lend further competitive advantage to our economy in the long run.”

InvestHK’s runs a dedicated website offering a one-stop portal to the start-up community in the city, and is the first such Hong Kong Government portal on start-ups for entrepreneurs. It points the way to various government incentives and incubation schemes.

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