Hong Kong is one of the world's largest financial centers. Talented people, big finances and rare goods - for all of them, Hong Kong is a point of attraction. New business projects appear here regularly - today Hong Kong is the largest start-up center in Asia.
Interestingly, the youngest entrepreneurs gather in Hong Kong. The average age of those wishing to develop their own startups in Hong Kong is 30 years. While in New York, Singapore and Silicon Valley, the initiators of projects are about 35.
Hong Kong is number one in terms of early-stage foreign start-up loyalty. About 61% of startups that received funding in Hong Kong are young projects brought from overseas. However, as in other countries, Hong Kong venture capital funds are in no hurry to invest in completely "raw ideas". Therefore, obtaining funding for the development of a startup in Hong Kong, as a rule,
occurs in 2 stages:
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Stage 1: the initial development of the project (concept development, team selection, product testing) is carried out at its own expense
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Stage 2: promotion and scaling of the project by attracting money from venture funds and accelerators
Below are some of the largest venture capital funds and accelerators in Hong Kong:
- Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association. The main focus of the fund is the organization of specialized exhibitions, conferences and briefings. Such events allow startups to present their projects to potential investors and attract funding.
- HKSTP is Hong Kong's largest technology park offering specialized programs for young entrepreneurs. During the existence of the park, over 700 entrepreneurs have graduated from its incubation programs, 80% of whom are successfully running their business to this day. Technopark offers 3 directions: Incu-App (development of mobile proposals), Incu-Tech (projects in the field of electronics and IT) and Incu-Bio (the field of biotechnology). The program participants have access to the office space, technical and administrative assistance. All groups receive guaranteed financial support.
- Arbor Ventures specializes in venture capital financing for early and mid-stage startups. Main directions: big data, Fintech and e-commerce. Special attention in the program is given to mentoring and networking.
- Cyberport is Hong Kong's largest accelerator and incubator. It currently unites over 1,500 startups and technology companies. Cyberport promotes the development of: cybersecurity, artificial intelligence technologies, blockchain technologies, smart city systems, FinTech, etc. The duration of acceleration programs is 6 months, incubation programs are 24 months. All participants receive special conditions for renting premises, partial coverage of travel and accommodation costs, as well as marketing and advertising support for the project.
- Mind Fund is a venture capital fund that actively supports innovative ideas related to digital content. The Fund has dozens of technology partner companies around the world, including the United States, Europe and Asia, and actively collaborates and implements joint programs with Cyberport.
- Blueprint. Accelerator for technology projects focused on the B2B market. The duration of the program is six months. No more than 10 teams are trained at a time, who have access to the accelerator's coworking space, consultations from more than 70 mentors and experts, regular educational events and programs. At the end of each month, the best project is selected, which receives additional benefits.
