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The StartmeupHK Venture Forum organised by Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) today (January 26) attracted more than 900 participants who had the opportunity to listen to renowned speakers talk about entrepreneurship and innovation.
The Forum was part of the week-long StartmeupHK Festival hosted by InvestHK from January 23 and 30 aimed at promoting the city as one of the fastest growing start-up hubs in the world. It was also broadcast live at www.startmeup.hk/en/webcast/.
In his opening speech at the Forum, the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, said, "Hong Kong's start-up scene has experienced phenomenal growth in recent years, with now more than 1,500 start-ups in our city, increased by nearly 50 per cent when compared with 2014. These ventures are led by entrepreneurs, investors, corporations, universities and Government."
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, said, "The StartmeupHK Venture Forum this year is truly amazing. A very special thank you to all the speakers for your inspiring sharing on your success stories and on the themes of innovation and entrepreneurship in Hong Kong and around the world."
CEO and Product Designer of Tesla Motors Mr Elon Musk was the guest at a fireside chat. He said, "Hong Kong will have the highest percentage of electric vehicles of any city in the world and will serve as a model for high-density cities around the world to transform to a sustainable transport future."
He added, "We are trying to work closely with the Hong Kong Government and to take lessons learned and see what we can do and then to copy that to other cities around the world."
Other speakers at the Forum included the Executive Director of Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, Ms Cindy Chow, and founders such as Mr Eric Gnock Fah from Klook, Mr Paul Tomes from PassKit, Mr Kevin Chan from Insight Robotics and Mr Fritz Demopoulos from Queen¡¯s Road Capital. Also speaking were the Chairman and CEO of Synergia One Group of Companies, Mr Fred Mouawad; the Founder and former CEO and Board Chairman of Super 8 Hotels, Mr Mitchell Presnick, and the Senior Director, Corporate Strategy and Development of Tencent, Ms Grace Xia.
The Director-General of Investment Promotion, Dr Simon Galpin, thanked all the speakers for their presence at the Forum. "I am delighted to see that the Forum has such a diverse range of speakers to share their inspiring stories. Judging from the immense response, I believe that the Forum has drawn a lot of attention to Hong Kong as one of the fastest growing start-up hubs in the world."
Apart from the Forum, the StartmeupHK Festival also features a series of other conferences and pitching events including the LAUNCH Consumer IoT Summit (an Internet of Things conference), FF16 ¡ª Fintech Finals 2016 (a financial technology pitching contest), 2016 Health Tech Demo Day (a health technology start-up competition) and Data Analytics Showcase (a seminar on data analytics and case studies) (see attached table).
Speakers at these conferences and events include the Chairman of Financial Services Club, Mr Chris Skinner; the Director for Hardware, Design, and Technology of Indiegogo, Mr Ben Bateman; and the Founder and CEO of Scanadu, Mr Walter de Brouwer.
In addition to the core events, the week will also feature social mixers, roundtable discussions and investor group meet-ups in venues across Hong Kong. More information on the Festival activities is available at www.startmeup.hk.
About InvestHK
InvestHK is the department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government established in July 2000 to attract foreign direct investment and support overseas and Mainland businesses to set up or expand in Hong Kong. It provides free advice and customised services to help businesses succeed in Hong Kong's vibrant economy. As at December 2015, InvestHK had assisted over 3 820 companies which have created more than 41 200 new jobs in the first year of operation or expansion and over HK$101 billion of investment. For more information, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk.
For event photos, please visit www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/albums/72157663904658986.
Ends/Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Issued at HKT 18:01
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