Hong Kong’s young entrepreneurs get boost with HK$500 million scheme to kick-start tech ecosystem
- City University’s HK Tech 300 scheme to support 65 start-up teams with HK$100,000 worth of seed funding for each group
- The scheme, one of the largest funding programmes at the university, is expected to last at least three years and benefit a total of 300 start-up teams
A cooling paint for buildings to increase the efficiency of air conditioners and an app which allows people to pay gym fees on a minute-by-minute-basis are among innovative projects approved under a HK$500 million (US$64.3 million) scheme to support entrepreneurship among young people in Hong Kong.
HK Tech 300, one of the largest funding programmes at City University, has so far selected 65 start-up teams formed by students and alumni at the university in the first two rounds of the selection process. Each team will receive HK$100,000 worth of seed funding.
The scheme, which was launched in March, covers fields including information and communications technology, artificial intelligence, biotech and health, education and financial technologies. It is expected to last at least three years and benefit a total of 300 start-up teams.
“This is the start of an ecosystem meant to support the younger generation,” said CityU’s governing council chairman Lester Garson Huang on Thursday. “In due course, we hope that it will also contribute to promoting economic and technological development, not only here in Hong Kong, but well beyond.”
CityU and mainland-backed conglomerate China Resources Enterprise each forked out HK$50 million for the initial capital of HK$100 million.
One of the start-up teams selected for the HK$100,000 seed fund was I2Cool, which created a “novel energy-free passive radiative cooling paint” that was also environmentally friendly .