City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) held the Award Ceremony for its HK Tech 300 Southeast Asia Start-up Competition (HK Tech 300 SEA Competition) on 27 June 2024. 10 start-ups from five countries across the Southeast Asia region and Hong Kong topped over 100 teams in the region, and were awarded Angel Fund investment of up to HK$1 million each from the University’s flagship innovation and entrepreneurship programme, HK Tech 300.

CityUHK launched the HK Tech 300 SEA Competition in Kuala Lumpur in May 2023. Its aim is to support Southeast Asian start-ups expand their business to Hong Kong and the mainland, help Hong Kong start-ups explore opportunities in SEA, and attract overseas tech talent to the city. Over 100 start-ups, joined the competition through the partnering universities and incubators in the region.

Presiding over the Award Ceremony were Professor Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government; Mr Lester Garson Huang, CityUHK Council Chairman; and Professor Freddy Boey, CityUHK President.

Mr Chen Yulin, Director of Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR, and Mr Victor Hui, Acting Consul General of Singapore in the HKSAR also attended the ceremony.

“Hong Kong is always one of the best destinations for global start-ups to thrive. With the interactive collaboration between the Government, industry, academic and research sectors, we have introduced a series of initiatives to create a vibrant innovation and technology (I&T) ecosystem and a favourable business environment over the past years. That makes it a golden opportunity for global start-ups to start or expand their business in the city,” said Professor Sun. He also recognised the contribution of HK Tech 300 in supporting and nurturing tech start-ups and talents in Hong Kong and the region.

Mr Huang expressed his congratulations to the 10 outstanding start-ups. “The competition attracted some of the most inspiring innovations and young entrepreneurs in the region. This reinforces our vision of cultivating talent and shaping a society driven by I&T advancement beyond boundaries,” said Mr Huang. “This is also aligned with the national strategy and the Government’s aim to develop Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub.

President Boey said he was delighted to witness the winning start-ups utilising CityUHK technology to advance their tech products and services. He pointed out that CityUHK is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and remains committed to fostering inspirational, interactive, and innovative education, enabling CityUHK to make a significant contribution to the world by generating ground-breaking research and innovative solutions to address pressing global challenges. 

He also expressed his heartfelt thanks to CityUHK’s partners in making the competition a success. “The Competition presents a unique opportunity to foster collaboration among top academic institutions and incubators in the region,” he said. We will continue our efforts to create a thriving I&T ecosystem through more cross-discipline, cross-sector and cross-region collaboration.”

The 10 winning start-ups, from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong, are experts in advanced technology fields, such as fintech, deep tech, biotech & health, and ICT & AI. These promising start-ups provide cutting-edge solutions for a wide range of industries, including digital healthcare, energy sustainability, green materials, digital assets and real estate.

Together with the angel funding, the awarded start-ups will receive extensive support. This includes professional services and business matching for potential co-investment opportunities in the HK Tech 300 ecosystem. They will also gain access to CityUHK’s world-class research achievements and intellectual property for advancing their technologies. This comprehensive support will provide a significant boost on their entrepreneurial journey.

The HK Tech 300 SEA Competition was held in partnership with universities and incubators in the region, including Universiti Malaya, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Chulalongkorn University from Thailand, Universitas Gadjah Mada from Indonesia, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (SIDEC), Sunwah Innovation Center from Vietnam, and various chambers of commerce. It helps start-ups enter Hong Kong and the mainland markets by leveraging the city’s unique advantages and resources. It also promotes the University’s technology transfer and commercialisation, fostering closer ties between the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in Hong Kong and the region.

The 10 winning start-ups (in alphabetical order):

• Apping Technology Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia)
• CoKeeps. Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia)
• E3A Healthcare Pte Limited (Singapore)
• PJJ Solutions Company Limited (Thailand)
• Portex Innovation Company Limited (Thailand)
• PT Inspirasien Srikandi Indonesia (Indonesia)
• Qmed Asia (Malaysia)
• Smartos Joint Stock Company (Vietnam)
• Super Bamboo Limited (Hong Kong)
• Syngular Technology Limited (Hong Kong)

Visit here to learn more about the winning start-ups’ innovative products and solutions.

About HK Tech 300

Under the theme “Venture Beyond Boundaries”, HK Tech 300 is a large-scale flagship innovation and entrepreneurship programme launched by CityUHK for aspiring entrepreneurs among the CityUHK students, alumni, research staff and others to establish start-ups and ignite their entrepreneurship journey. With an allocation of HK$600 million, the programme offers comprehensive support for entrepreneurship training, a seed fund, an angel fund, co-working space, and networking opportunities in the industrial and commercial communities.

HK Tech 300 aims to provide educational and growth opportunities for young entrepreneurs and to translate CityUHK’s research results and intellectual property into practical applications. Since its launch in March 2021, over 1,700 people have participated in entrepreneurship training, more than 700 teams have been cultivated, of which over 140 start-ups have been awarded angel fund investment of up to $1 million each to develop and validate their business models. Over 180 experienced industrialists and successful entrepreneurs have accepted our invitation to serve as mentors, and more than 90 public and private institutions have served as strategic partners, co-investment partners and supporting organisations. CityUHK has also established co-investment partnerships with 15 innovation and technology investment companies and funds in Hong Kong and the mainland that provide angel fund investment to selected HK Tech 300 start-up companies.

For more information, please visit: http://www.jvrhmfr.xyz/hktech300/