Record 18,300+ Visitors Attend 10th Entrepreneur Day
18 May 2018 – A record turnout of more than 18,300 visitors attended the 10th Entrepreneur Day, which concluded its two-day run at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) today. The number represented a four per cent increase from last year. Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the event hosted a record 276 exhibitors, showcasing a range of innovative products and technologies as well as support services for start-ups. A series of on-site activities were organised to help start-ups seek funding, expand their business, recruit talent and solve problems. These included seminars, pitching sessions, Start-up Clinic consultations, as well as Start-up Mixer “speed dating” meetings between start-ups and experts in various sectors.
Nurturing young entrepreneurs
A key highlight of Entrepreneur Day 2018 was today’s Start-up Express Pitching Final, the final contest of the HKTDC’s new “Start-up Express” incubation programme. Launched in March this year, Start-up Express aims to help start-ups expand globally by connecting them with investors, buyers and potential partners from different parts of the world, through exhibitions, overseas business missions and other activities. Participants are selected through a competition that culminates in the Start-up Express Pitching Final. In this year’s inaugural edition, 20 finalists were shortlisted from 100 entrants.
Today’s Start-up Express Pitching Final was preluded by a Teenage Entrepreneur Pitching session, during which Hillary Yip, the 13-year-old founder of start-up MinorMynas, pitched her business ideas to HKTDC Chairman Vincent HS Lo. She also shared her source of inspiration and story as an entrepreneur. “My business is an online educational platform that helps children of all ages pick up another language by chatting via live video calls with children their own age [in other countries]. My original intention was to help people to learn. But if it’s popular, I think it will make money, just like Facebook,” she said.
Mr Lo said: “Youth are the future of Hong Kong. It’s very important to nurture them and create opportunities for them, as they will be driving force of the city’s economic development.”
Start-up Express winners
The Start-up Express Pitching Final yielded 10 winners – Dragon Creative Enterprise Solution Limited, RainsOptics Limited, Film Players Limited, Koofy Development Limited, Walnut Technology Limited, Mamahelpers Limited, 3DK Tech Limited, Farseer Limited, Lecker Labs Limited, Hong Kong Wowwoo Catering Services Limited.
Each of them is entitled to participate, free of charge, in a series of major local and overseas activities, worth about HK$160,000, that will help them build their networks and expand their business. The activities include a business mission to the Guangdong Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area and visits to major trade fairs around the world. Business leaders, including Mr Lo; Victor Fung, Group Chairman of Fung Group; Neil Shen, Founding and Managing Partner of Sequoia Capital China; and Daryl Ng, Deputy Chairman of Sino Group will share their experiences with the winners during a series of power meet-ups. NiCubator, a project set up by actor and entrepreneur Nicholas Tse, may also provide the winners with promotion opportunities.
The contest’s Head Judge Antony Leung, also Chairman and CEO of Nan Fung Group, said:
“The quality [of the contestants] is very good. I’m interested to invest many of them. It also shows that Hong Kong’s ecology and environment for start-ups is getting better and better.” Other judges included Jonathan Lee, Director of Karting Empire; Derek Yeung, co-founder of Chef Nic Holdings Ltd, Duncan Chiu, CEO and co-founder of Radiant Venture Capital; Erica Ma, co-founder and Community Advisor of Cocoon, Lap Man, co-founder and Managing Partner of Beyond Ventures; and Chen Guanhua, co-founder of the HKX.
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HKTDC Chairman Vincent HS Lo, offers advice to Hillary Yip, the 13-year-old founder of start-up MinorMynas
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HKTDC Chairman Vincent HS Lo says, “Youth are the future of Hong Kong. It’s very important to nurture them and create opportunities for them, as they will be driving force of the city’s economic development” |
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As Head Judge of the contest in the Start-up Express incubation programme, Antony Leung, Chairman and CEO of Nan Fung Group, said: “The quality [of the contestants] is very good. I’m interested to invest many of them. It also shows that Hong Kong’s ecology and environment for start-ups is getting better and better” |
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Hillary Yip, the 13-year-old founder of start-up MinorMynas
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HKTDC Chairman Vincent HS Lo (second row, fifth from right), HKTDC Executive Director Margaret Fong (second row, fifth from left), judges and finalists of the competition in the Start-up Express incubation programme
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All winners and judges of Start-up Express pose for a group photo
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Nathan Gold, Chief Coach at The Demo Coach, offers pitching tips for start-ups at an Entrepreneur Day seminar. He advises that entrepreneurs should listen to investors’ needs before pitching their ideas. He commends Entrepreneur Day for gathering start-ups and a range of support services under one roof
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Among the extensive range of innovative products on show at Entrepreneur Day is this smart pill box designed for elderly patients relying on long-term medication. Connected to a mobile app, the pill box reminds patients to take their pills and alert them to mistakes with sound. It also tracks medication intakes, which can hence be monitored by the patients’ families or caretakers records all your meds intakes; alerts overdosing with sound |
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Entrepreneur Day also showcases this virtual reality/augmented reality technology-based safety training system for construction workers. The device is the result of the “Safety First” project undertaken by the City University of Hong Kong
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Jonathan Lee, Director of Karting Empire, consults an expert on brand promotion at the Start-up Clinic as he prepares to enter the Hong Kong market |
Media Enquiries
Please contact the HKTDC Communications & Public Affairs Department:
Angel Tang Tel: (852) 2584 4544 Email: angel.hc.tang@hktdc.org
Beatrice Lam Tel: (852) 2584 4049 Email: beatrice.hy.lam@hktdc.org
Entrepreneur Day Website: www.hktdc.com/eday
About the HKTDC
Established in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong’s businesses. With more than 40 offices globally, including 13 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China, Asia and the world. With more than 50 years of experience, the HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to provide companies, particularly SMEs, with business opportunities on the mainland and in international markets, while providing information via trade publications, research reports and digital channels including the media room.