2014 StartmeupHK創業計劃

投資推廣署「2014 StartmeupHK創業計劃」享譽國際　獲來自四十七個經濟體公司報名參加
InvestHK’s 2014 StartmeupHK Venture Programme “goes global” with entries from 47 economies

投資推廣署於八月五日宣布，該署推出的「2014 StartmeupHK創業計劃」至今共收到五百五十份參賽申請，報名人士來自全球47個經濟體系，當中不乏香港的參賽者。

參賽者以來自香港公司佔最多數（一百七十八份），其次是美國（六十五份）、以色列（五十三份）、印度（四十六份）及英國（三十份）。申請者所遞交的參賽業務建議書內容多元化，當中半數以上是從事創新科技及資訊等領域。另外，屬概念或生產原型階段的參賽者佔約三分之二，其餘則是初期至成長期企業，並且有收入及／或用戶。

投資推廣署「2014 StartmeupHK創業計劃」享譽國際　獲來自四十七個經濟體公司報名參加

評判現正着手挑選參賽者進入準決賽，並將於九月進行一系列面試，然後再選出十二位參賽者進入決賽，參加十一月十日至十四日在香港舉行的「StartmeupHK創業周」，當中包括於十一月十一日舉行的大型「StartmeupHK創業論壇」，評判團及現場參與人士將即時選出最優秀的三位得獎者，以及今年新設的金融科技、智能城市及數據分析三個行業大獎的得獎者。

投資推廣署署長賈沛年對於該署舉辦的創業比賽獲得理想的報名數字感到鼓舞，認為這證明香港繼續深受創業人士垂青。

他說：「我很高興看見我們的比賽日漸得到各界的支持，觀乎參賽數目上升近百分之四十，可見一斑。」

他補充：「我亦欣然看見比賽得到更多海外企業家垂青，香港是創業者的理想落腳點，在這裏他們可找到無限商機，將業務擴展到世界各地。香港的創業氛圍正快速發展，很高興看見這個信息已日漸在海外流傳開去，這亦是我們舉辦這個比賽的其中的一個目的，以求達到相關的品牌效應。」

StartmeupHK 創業計劃得到各贊助機構的支持，包括天職、浩觀、鄭黃林律師行、帝盛酒店集團、EastFunding.co、Fintrade-Mercer Advisor Limited、 Fintrade-Mercer Corporate Law Limited、Hong Kong Commons、畢馬威、Loft、NEST、Orangefield、PaperclipHK、羅兵咸永道、Soft Layer-IBM、施耐德電氣、鄧偉德、戴源恆律師行及WYND共用工作空間，贊助總值超過五十萬美元的獎品。

有關「2014 StartmeupHK創業計劃」的詳情可瀏覽 www.startmeup.hk 網頁。
該網頁為創業人士提供一站式的平台，連接香港主要創業群組，是香港政府首個一站式創業平台，網頁亦詳列香港主要的創業活動及不同的政府創業資助及培養計劃。

資料來源：香港投資推廣署

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InvestHK’s 2014 StartmeupHK Venture Programme “goes global” with entries from 47 economies

Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) on August 5 announced that its 2014 StartmeupHK Venture Programme has drawn 550 entries from entrepreneurs in 47 economies worldwide, including Hong Kong.

The largest number of entries came from Hong Kong (178), followed by the US (65), Israel (53), India (46) and the UK (30). Entries are diverse in terms of their business and models but half of them were from the innovation and technology and information and communications areas. Some two-thirds of the entries are concept to prototype stage ventures with the remainder early to growth stage ventures with revenue and/or users.

InvestHK’s 2014 StartmeupHK Venture Programme “goes global” with entries from 47 economies

Assessors will now select semi-finalists, and after face-to-face interviews in September, the 12 winners will be picked to participate in the StartmeupHK Week from November 10 to 14 in Hong Kong. At the Venture Programme Forum on November 11, three Grand Award Winners will be chosen from the 12 finalists by a panel of judges and Forum attendees. There will also be special awards for the best ventures in FinTech, SmartCity and Data Analytics.

InvestHK’s Director-General of Investment Promotion, Mr Simon Galpin, said he was delighted by the number of entries, which he said was a clear indication of Hong Kong’s continued appeal for start-up businesses.

“I am happy to see the increasing popularity of our competition as evidenced by the almost 40 per cent increase in the number of entries submitted,” Mr Galpin said.

He added, “I am also very pleased to see that the competition has reached more entrepreneur-led businesses in more overseas economies. Hong Kong offers an ideal foothold and a great opportunity for them to scale up and ‘go global’. I’m glad to see that our message about Hong Kong’s rapidly developing start-up ecosystem is spreading, which is one of the purposes of our StartmeupHK brand initiative and competition.”

The StartmeupHK Venture Programme is well supported by a number of generous sponsors, who are providing prizes worth in excess of US$500,000. These sponsors include Baker Tilly, CoCoon, CWL Partners, Dorsett Hospitality, EastFunding.co, Fintrade-Mercer Advisor Limited, Fintrade-Mercer Corporate Law Limited, Hong Kong Commons, KPMG, Loft, NEST, Orangefield, PaperclipHK, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Soft Layer-IBM, Schneider Electric, Tanner De Witt and WYND Co-Working Space.

Details of the StartmeupHK Venture Programme 2014 are available on the dedicated website www.startmeup.hk. The site offers a one-stop portal to the city’s start-up community, and is the first such Hong Kong Government portal on start-ups. It also lists the latest start-up events and signposts users to various government incentive and incubation schemes.

About InvestHK

InvestHK is the department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government established in July 2000 to attract Foreign Direct Investment and support overseas and Mainland businesses to set up or expand in Hong Kong. It provides free advice and customised services to help businesses succeed in Hong Kong’s vibrant economy. As at June 2014, InvestHK has completed over 3 300 investment projects creating more than 36 400 new jobs in the first year of operation or expansion and over HK$88 billion of investment. For more information, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk.

Source: InvestHK