Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto) (HKETO), Ms Emily Mo, joined the “StartmeupHK Canada Salon” event on July 7 to showcase the opportunities that Hong Kong presents to startups, while promoting Hong Kong is an ideal platform for Canadian companies to tap into the vast opportunities in the Mainland China and Asia.
Ms Mo spoke at the Canada leg of the event organised by the Invest Hong Kong, TechTO and OneEleven, and supported by the HKETO, she updated participants on the latest startup scene in Hong Kong and talked about the strengths of the city as an ideal platform for Canadian companies to access the Mainland China and Asian markets.
“Other competitive advantages include a low and simple tax system, free flow of capital, an international business environment, an efficient government and a deep pool of professionals and talents,” Ms Mo said.
Ms Mo highlighted that the startup ecosystem in Hong Kong has been thriving the past few years. “The number of startups jumped 68% from 2017 to 3,755 in 2021 despite the global pandemic, and the number of companies in Hong Kong with parent companies overseas or in the Mainland China also increased to over 9000, both reaching record high,” Ms Mo continued.
At the panel discussion following the remarks, Head of Investment Promotion of HKETO Mr Christopher Chen introduced to the audience the startup ecosystem in Hong Kong and the services provided by StartmeupHK to facilitate Canadian companies interested to set foot in the city. Other speakers who shared their insights and successful experience in expanding to Hong Kong included Co-Founder of TechTO, Mr Alex Norman, Managing Director of OneEleven, Mr Matthew Lombardi, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Korah Limited, Mr Jack Li and Chief Product Officer of Tappy Tech, Mr Prashanth Dappula.
StartmeupHK is an initiative by InvestHK aimed at helping founders of innovative and scalable startups from overseas to set up or expand in Hong Kong. This year, StartmeupHK will be hosting Salon events across a number of cities including Berlin, Brazil, Guangzhou, Jakarta, San Francisco and Toronto.
香港經貿處推廣香港的初創商機
香港駐多倫多經濟貿易辦事處（香港經貿處）處長巫菀菁於七月七日出席「StartmeupHK 加拿大創業沙龍」活動，展示香港為初創企業帶來的機遇，同時推廣香港是加拿大公司拓展中國內地及亞洲龐大市場的理想平台。
該創業沙龍活動的加拿大站是由香港投資推廣署、TechTO及OneEleven合辦，香港經貿處支持。巫菀菁在活動上致辭時向與會者介紹香港最新的初創企業現況，並闡述香港的優勢，是加拿大企業進軍中國內地及亞洲市場的理想平台。
巫菀菁表示：「香港其他具競爭力的優勢包括簡單低稅制、資金自由流通、國際營商環境、有效率的政府及專業人才匯聚。」
巫菀菁強調，香港的初創企業生態系統在過去幾年持續蓬勃發展，她續說：「雖然受到全球疫情影響，但香港的初創企業數目由二○一七年至二○二一年間大增68.5%到3 755間，而母公司設於海外或中國內地的駐港公司數目亦增至逾9 000間，兩項數字均創新高。」
巫菀菁致辭後，香港投資推廣署加拿大投資推廣總監陳立智在專題討論環節向與會者介紹香港的初創企業生態系統，並介紹StartmeupHK為有意踏足香港的加拿大公司所提供的服務。其他講者包括TechTO共同創辦人Alex Norman、OneEleven行政總監Matthew Lombardi、Korah Limited 行政總裁暨共同創辦人李卓富及Tappy Tech首席生產總監Prashanth Dappula，他們分享成功拓展業務至香港的心得和經驗。
StartmeupHK是由香港投資推廣署提出的倡議，旨在協助前途無限的海外創新初創公司在香港設立基地或拓展業務。今年StartmeupHK在全球多個城市包括柏林、巴西、廣州、雅加達、三藩市及多倫多均有舉辦StartmeupHK創業沙龍活動。
