In collaboration with other universities and incubators in the region, City University of Hong Kong (CityU) launched the "HK Tech 300 Southeast Asia Start-up Competition" (HK Tech 300 SEA Competition) in Kuala Lumpur in May 2023. Since then, it has attracted over 100 participating start-ups from seven countries and cities in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

The start-ups specialise in various fields, such as deep tech, artificial intelligence, biotech and health technology. Most of them see this competition as an opportunity to enter the Hong Kong market, establish connections with potential investors and partners, and expand their business to the Mainland and other markets, showing that the competition contributes to attracting overseas tech talent to the city.

CityU launched HK Tech 300, a large-scale flagship innovation and entrepreneurship programme in 2021, with a total allocation of HK$600 million. To date, HK Tech 300 has cultivated more than 790 start-ups and teams, including over 130 start-ups awarded up to HK$1 million each in angel fund investment. To further promote the innovation and technology (I&T) ecosystem in the region, CityU launched the HK Tech 300 SEA Competition to support Southeast Asian start-ups in technology transformation and expanding their business to Hong Kong, the Mainland and beyond, leveraging the unique advantages and resources available in Hong Kong.

Moreover, CityU established a partnership with the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) during a delegation visit to Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia in July 2023, led by Mr John Lee, Chief Executive of the HKSAR, to encourage ASEAN enterprises to expand their businesses in the city. The aim of the partnership with NUS and MDEC is to jointly promote I&T development for both parties.

The HK Tech 300 SEA Competition is being 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, MDEC, Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (Sidec), Sunwah Innovation Center, from Vietnam, and various chambers of commerce. Through these partners, some of the region’s most promising start-ups have been brought together to join the competition.

Participating start-ups aspire to seek solutions with CityU patented technology

So far, the competition has attracted more than 100 start-ups from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong. It has now reached the selection stage, in which the top 10 winners will each be awarded up to HK$1 million in angel fund investment, along with the support of business matching, co-investment opportunities, research and technological resources.

E3A Healthcare, from Singapore, is one of the participating start-ups. It is a leading global innovator in newborn and women's health medical devices, with a rich portfolio of patented technologies. The company’s CFO, Mr Henry Chen, described Hong Kong’s strategic location as a gateway to the broader Asian market, including the Mainland, and said the city has a robust venture capital community and a supportive regulatory environment. He said he believed the competition will provide an avenue for them to explore potential partners and investors, facilitate business expansion, and gain exposure on the international stage.

Sinisana Technologies, a participant from Malaysia, has developed a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to provide supply chain and sustainability tracing for food and agriculture products with blockchain technology. Mr Jonah Lau, co-founder of the start-up, said Hong Kong is a strong player in global supply chains and a good springboard to the Greater China market. He said he believed CityU’s abundant portfolio of patents and technologies will help strengthen their future offerings.

Entering Hong Kong as a gateway to the Mainland market

Savyu Holdings is an e-commerce platform from Vietnam that provides all-in-one retailer solutions, including ordering, payment, delivery and rewards, and offers customer data-analysis services. Mr Timothy Leung, founder of the start-up, said that Hong Kong has a vibrant retail market and a strong AI ecosystem, which gives tech start-ups a good potential market in which to grow. He said he believed the competition would speed up their venture into Hong Kong and be a good entry point to break into the Mainland and other markets.

 

 

Other participants include PT Inspirasien Srikandi, from Indonesia, and Chat.pLearn, from Thailand. PT Inspirasien Srikandi is a one-stop platform that offers medical-related information, while Chat.pLearn is a micro-leaning platform that uses AI and chatbot technologies. Both start-ups said they believed that HK Tech 300 can help them connect with various stakeholders and potential partners, which will accelerate their business development.

HK Tech 300 also supports numerous start-ups in their overseas expansion. Datality Lab and ColorPixel, both supported by the HK Tech 300 Angel Fund, have established branch offices in Southeast Asia. Datality Lab offers an AI communication and training platform. ColorPixel utilises blockchain technology to build an NFT marketing solution, and it recently collaborated with Tourism Malaysia with the support of MDEC.

Providing business support for Southeast Asian start-ups

“We are delighted that the HK Tech 300 SEA Competition has atracted many aspiring young entrepreneurs from the region, thus successfully expanding the programme into Southeast Asia,” said Professor Michael Yang, CityU Senior Vice-President (Innovation and Enterprise) and Chairman of the HK Tech 300 Executive Committee. “Through this expansion, we look forward to promoting CityU technology transfer and commercialisation in the region and supporting start-ups in business development by leveraging the unique advantages and resources available in Hong Kong, the Mainland and Southeast Asia, and eventually fostering the I&T ecosystem in the region and contributing to support the HKSAR Government’s ‘Competing for Talents and Enterprises’ policy.”