HONG KONG SAR  - 10 October 2023 - The annual StartmeupHK Festival returns to Hong Kong on 8-17 November following the monumental success in the past years. Curated by Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) and guided by the theme A Future Unlimited, the StartmeupHK Festival 2023 will explore the latest topics around web3, healthtech, proptech, greentech, GameFi, and much more. As the leading startup event in Asia, the festival is expected to host more than 20,000 startups, investors and tech enthusiasts representing over 100 countries and regions this year.

Featuring eight main events and an array of community events, what sets this year's Festival apart is its inclusion of captivating activities in multiple locations across Hong Kong, with speakers ranging from global business leaders to some of the world's most innovative entrepreneurs. The Festival will also host a lineup of interactive activities like pitching competitions, startup-investor matching, tech demos, job fair and networking events. What's more, the Festival will feature a satellite event in Bangkok on 15 – 16 November, bringing together global senior executives and innovation experts to discuss corporate strategies for fostering innovation and growth.

Dr Jimmy Chiang, Acting Director-General of Investment Promotion of InvestHK said, "I am thrilled to witness the triumphant return of this remarkable event as it reaffirms Hong Kong's leading position as a thriving hub for innovation and startup success. As one of the most vibrant cities in Asia', Hong Kong is always an ideal place to conduct business. And it comes as no surprise that Hong Kong is a thriving hub for startups in Asia, having groomed more than 10 unicorns over the years, and home to a rapidly growing number of startups in areas as diverse as fintech, retail tech, healthtech, Internet of Things (IoT), proptech and more."

He added, "While the local startup ecosystem is supported by a strong network of incubators and accelerators, a pool of experienced angels and venture capitalists, and a welcoming community of startups knit together by a multitude of networking events, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government remains committed to supporting the growth and success of startups with increased fundings for investments in innovation and technology, to enhance research and development efforts and help more tech startups with potential. Our goal is to make Hong Kong an ideal launchpad to get startups off the ground."

Jayne Chan, Head of StartmeupHK said, "The StartmeupHK Festival 2023 marks a significant milestone as it embraces the long-awaited opportunity for in-person interactions, and we expect this year's Festival to be bigger and more exciting than ever. With multiple exciting events scattered across various locations in Hong Kong, including at the iconic Ocean Park and Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, this year's Festival is set to create a dynamic and immersive experience for all participants."

She continued, "In addition to a wide array of the most cutting-edge topics, the Festival also offers community events to promote collaboration within the startup community. We have also curated networking events to foster deeper connections. I am excited about what this year's Festival has in store for everyone."

Main events

Day 1 (8 Nov) - As the opening event of the StartmeupHK Festival 2023, Explore the Innovation Ocean by Jumpstart will be held in Ocean Park Hong Kong featuring three concurrent tracks. Key sessions include engaging speakers and panels on Web3, artificial intelligence (AI), and metaverses, "Shark Tank"-style pitch competition for startups and students, and a relationship track focused on networking opportunities and booths. One of the highlights of the event will be investor matching on the Ferris Wheel.

Day 2 (9 Nov) - Hosted by Brinc, the Asia Health Innovation Summit 2023 will be held in The ParkLane - A Pullman Hotel and bring together Asia's health ecosystem of startups, professionals, and investors to exchange knowledge, inspire one another, and help drive innovation. Key sessions will cover topics such as AI's impact on healthcare, transforming the healthcare workforce, achieving successful healthcare innovation, and more.

Day 3 (10 Nov) - Pegasus Tech Ventures will be gathering the CEOs of the world's leading companies, venture capitalists, large corporations, and world-renowned companies at the Startup World Cup (SWC) Asia Finale 2023 hosted at Hong Kong Science and Technology Park. The winner will not only receive a prize but also earn the opportunity to travel to San Francisco, the United States, to compete for the global championship at SWC Grand Finale, where an even larger prize awaits.

Day 4 (13 Nov) - Organised by Eureka Nova, 1.5°C Summit - The Defining Decade for Impact with Tech to be held in K11 ATELIER King's Road is a one-of-a-kind tech summit on climate change focused on the actions needed to be taken to drastically reduce emissions before the next decade. Leading experts, entrepreneurs and stakeholders will attend the event with the goal of reducing the impact of climate change. Together, they will share their insights on how technology can transform and create a more sustainable future.

Day 5 (14 Nov) - All worlds collide at Real Estate Beyond 2023, a one-day event held in New World Millennium Hong Kong Hotel presented by Asia PropTech. The programme is designed for business and technology leaders and will emphasise knowledge sharing through insightful keynotes, panels, and small group discussions. The exhibition will showcase real estate use cases in AI, environmental, social and governance, nanotech, construction, customer relationship management, data analytics, operational efficiency, and capital markets.

Day 6 (15 Nov) - For a second year in a row, Game On! 2023, hosted by MaGESpire, will celebrate the essence of gaming, art, music, and entertainment (GAME) industries. This two-day event will gather passionate gamers, artists, developers, investors, and fans at Cyberport in a true-to-spirit gamified environment. Also kicking off on Day 6 is St. Gallen Symposium Hong Kong-Greater Bay Area Forum 2023. Under the theme "Confronting Scarcity", this event will bring together over 150 businesses, tech startups and investment and family office leaders from Hong Kong, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and Europe. The thought-provoking discussions will take place at the Credit Suisse Auditorium.

Day 7 - 8 (16 - 17 Nov) - Check out JUMPSTARTER 2023 Tech by The Harbour, the grand finale of the global pitching competition organised by Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund (AEF), to take place at Tsim Sha Tsui Harbourfront. Besides the Final Pitch where innovative startups present their groundbreaking ideas and solutions, another notable highlight of the event is StartMeetUp, an exclusive business matching aimed at connecting startups with potential partners and investors.

Community events

StartmeupHK Festival 2023 will host a series of community events around Hong Kong that attendees can join to explore new ideas and meet new people.

LOUDER Connect, organised by LOUDER Global to be held on 9 Nov at Runnovation in Wanchai, will focus on identifying the reasons behind funding disparities faced by women-led businesses, exploring whether these are due to inherent business challenges, gender-biased investment culture, or other factors.

Join Undivided Ventures in an "Undivided Building Impact" x StartmeupHK event. The event, to be held on 14 Nov at the Executive Centre, will showcase four early-stage businesses, along with a panel discussion with leading experts in the industry to demonstrate that sustainable businesses and innovations in the built environment can not only have a positive environment impact for real estate owners and operators, but also be accretive to the value of their assets and their bottom line.

Last but not least, the Future of Work Unconference will be hosted by CoCoon in CoCoon Hong Kong, Causeway Bay. As technologies such as AI become more and more prominent in our day to day lives, the conference will take a deep look into what the future of work holds for everyone.

About Invest Hong Kong

Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) is the department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) responsible for attracting foreign direct investment and supporting overseas and mainland businesses to set up and expand in Hong Kong. It offers free advice and services to support companies from the planning stage right through to the launch and expansion of their business. For more information, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk.

About StartmeupHK

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. Our services include providing information about the startup ecosystem here in Hong Kong, connecting people to the startup community, hosting startup events and helping to foster a positive environment for startups to thrive. Find out more at www.startmeup.hk, our one-stop portal to Hong Kong's startup ecosystem. For enquiries, please contact us at startmeuphk@investhk.gov.hk.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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