The Hong Kong government's stepped up efforts to lift the innovation and technology sector have apparently paid off, with startup enterprises in the city reporting significant growth last year, along with those in the Pearl River Delta. Parker Zheng / China Daily

SAR sees sizeable growth in budding enterprises last year as funding schemes multiply

Hong Kong's startup community recorded sizeable growth last year, according to recent government statistics, as neighboring cities also reported increases in the number of fledgling companies amid growing support for technology and entrepreneurship.

Industry insiders urged the SAR government to help build connections between startup founders and seasoned entrepreneurs to further their development.

The number of startups in Hong Kong grew by 24 percent to 1,926 last year, and employed 41 percent more staff than in 2015, a recent survey by Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) - the government's investment promotion agency - showed.

Describing the progress as "rather significant", Frederick Yung, a mentor at Hong Kong Business Angel Network and a lecturer on entrepreneurship at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, cited intense government efforts as one of the key drivers behind the growth.

He told China Daily the development in 2016 coincided with the launch of the Innovation and Technology Bureau. "We may link it with the bureau's efforts to promote entrepreneurship in Hong Kong and the various funding schemes made available for startups".

The government's HK$2-billion Innovation and Technology Venture Fund is expected to be launched in the first half of this year, benefitting the city's entrepreneurs.

At the same time, entrepreneurship in Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the Pearl River Delta region had also been flourishing in the past year.

According to the latest Guangdong provincial statistics, Shenzhen boasted more startups per capita than any part on the mainland, with 30,000 tech companies and more than 1.4 million small and medium-sized enterprises in operation by the end of November last year.

Aiming to boost cooperation and development in technology, Shenzhen and Hong Kong are set to jointly build an 87-hectare innovation and technology park in the Lok Ma Chau Loop near the border.

Guangzhou saw an almost four-fold increase in the number of hi-tech companies to 4,700 in 2016, Mayor Wen Guohui said on Tuesday.

The provincial capital has vowed to increase its investment in technology research and development to 3 percent of its GDP by 2020.

Faced with fierce competition from mainland cities, Hong Kong still faces various problems in its bid to become the region's innovation hub. "Boosting the success rate of startups and then having it promoted is a challenge," said Yung.

He believed that Hong Kong startups need closer support from established businesses that can share their valuable experience in running companies through mentoring programs.

"Such mentoring activities now are very ad hoc and not structured. The Hong Kong government or non-profit organizations can take the lead in developing such a pool of mentors," he said.

One of the Hong Kong government's recent efforts to bring all stakeholders in the ecosystem together to create better connection is the StartmeupHK Festival to be held from January 16 to 20.

Focused on sectors such as financial technology, retail, smart city, fashion and health technology, the festival - the second of its kind to be organized in the city by InvestHK - aims to amass entrepreneurs, investors and talents from home and abroad.

Contact the writers at iris@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 01/12/2017 page8)