**************************************************
Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) today (January 15) announced that it will kick off its iconic StartmeupHK Festival next week as part of the department's ongoing initiative to promote the city as one of the fastest growing start-up hubs in the world.
The week-long Festival will run from January 23 to 30 with a series of thematic conferences and pitching events covering areas such as the consumer Internet of Things, financial technology, health technology and data analytics, in which Hong Kong has a distinct competitive advantage. The StartmeupHK Venture Forum, the anchor event of the Festival, is scheduled for January 26.
The highlight of the StartmeupHK Venture Forum is a fireside chat between CEO and Product Designer of Tesla Motors Mr Elon Musk with CNN anchor Ms Kristie Lu Stout. Mr Musk is also a serial entrepreneur who founded aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, Paypal and Zip2. Other speakers at the event will include 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 will be 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 more. The StartmeupHK Venture Forum will be livecast on InvestHK's dedicated start-up website www.startmeup.hk.
Speakers at the other conferences and events during the week will include the Chairman of Financial Services Club, Mr Chris Skinner; the Director for Hardware, Design, and Technology of Indiegogo, Mr Ben Bateman; the Founder and CEO of Scanadu, Mr Walter de Brouwer.
The Director-General of Investment Promotion, Dr Simon Galpin, said that the StartmeupHK Festival aims at showcasing the dynamism and growth of Hong Kong's start-up ecosystem to both international and domestic audiences.
"I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to all the speakers who are taking valuable time from their busy schedules to come to our Venture Forum and talk about entrepreneurship and innovation. I believe we can all learn a good deal from their accounts," Dr Galpin said.
He added, "This unique Festival will enable participants from Hong Kong and those visiting from overseas to share ideas and make invaluable connections for business opportunities and future collaboration. The Festival is part of InvestHK's ongoing initiative to promote the city as one of the fastest growing start-up hubs in the world and attract overseas entrepreneurs and investors to discover the advantages of Hong Kong as the preferred destination for innovation and entrepreneurship."
Most of the core events during the StartmeupHK Festival will be located in PMQ, the venue partner. (Please see the attached timetable.) More details are available on 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 June 2015, InvestHK had assisted over 3,700 companies which have created more than 40,200 new jobs in the first year of operation or expansion and over HK$99 billion of investment. For more information, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk.
For a photo, please visit www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/albums/72157660726606250.
Ends/Friday, January 15, 2016
Issued at HKT 15:01
NNNN