Smart cities and innovations in PropTech are among the key areas to take the spotlight next month as Hong Kong sets to host the annual StartmeupHK Festival from May 24 to May 28 in a virtual format for the second consecutive year.
Running on a theme “Welcome to a Future Unlimited”, the week-long festival will feature 14 main events that would show various business opportunities for startups on an international level while latest ideas, trends and innovations from around the world would be discussed.
Two of these main events are expected give participants updates on current IoT use cases. One of them is “PropTech Asia & Beyond” hosted by Asia PropTech that will highlight the evolution of real estate and the urban landscape. The one-and-a-half day conference will include: knowledge exchange to build the foundation for the PropTech ecosystem; a startup pitch battle to support scaling-up of startups and to promote interactions between investors and startups in a real-life setting; and a youth engagement program to nurture future generations into PropTech entrepreneurship.
The other one is the “Connected Cities Conference” hosted by KPMG that will offer a glimpse of innovations for the next generation of city living. Several global and regional speakers from government, academia, business and leading entrepreneurs will show examples of a number of smart and connected cities and technologies from around the world including IoT, AI and data analytics to enhance a city’s liveability, workability and sustainability.
Other key topics up for discussions include AI, fintech, ESG, healthcare and the impact of the Greater Bay Area development initiative.
Now on its sixth edition, 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.
“The StartmeupHK Festival 2021 will be a fantastic showcase of the many opportunities that Hong Kong offers to startups both locally and internationally,” said Stephen Phillips, director-general of Investment Promotion at InvestHK.
“Collaborating with our strong partners, participants will benefit from the insights of leaders in their fields from around the world and demonstrate Hong Kong’s leading position as an incubator and test-bed for what’s new and what’s next that will impact how we live and do business in the future. Although the world has faced overwhelming disruption, there are consequently many exciting opportunities for startups to unlock. The festival will provide an opportunity for participants to step-back and do what startups do so well - conceive new ideas to solve contemporary challenges," he added.
Events are open to attendees across the globe for free, with additional paid premium sessions for ShaperZ by Finnovasia, GBA Innovation Summit by TusPark Hong Kong and Scaleup Impact Summit by WHub.
Meanwhile, the Startup World Cup Asian Regional Finale 2021 will be held in Hong Kong for the first time. Organised by Silicon Valley-based global venture capital firm Pegasus Tech Ventures, the startup event will bring together founders from Asia vying for crown of best Asian startup, and the opportunity to compete at the global finals in San Francisco, alongside sharing from top startups, venture capitalists and enterprises.
