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The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, today (October 19) visited a co-working space for start-ups to learn more about a new business accelerator programme driven by a Hong Kong-based car company and a leading incubator for start-ups in Hong Kong.
Mr So first toured the co-working space in Wan Chai set up by the car company with Hong Kong as its global headquarters and noted that the company aims to help entrepreneurs turn ideas into action, and shares their views on creating and supporting entrepreneurship.
He was briefed on details of the accelerator programme, which focuses on helping start-ups in smart cities businesses, including smart energy, smart homes, the Internet of Things (IoT) and urban planning. The company launched the 12-week programme in June this year with a total of eight start-ups finally selected to join the programme. At the end of the programme, the eight start-ups will have an opportunity to pitch for funding and partnerships at an Investor Demo Day at the co-working space.
Mr So said, "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is very keen to transform the city into a leading global hub for innovation and entrepreneurship where start-ups can use the city as a lab, a showcase and a global launch pad."
He added that the timing of the opening of the co-working space could not be better as Hong Kong has experienced phenomenal growth in the start-up system. In the past 36 months, co-working locations and incubation/accelerator programmes have increased from three to over 40.
"Looking forward, we hope to attract leading technology innovators to our city and entrepreneurs from all over the world will soon recognise the fact that Hong Kong has the unique capability to integrate design, software and hardware and turn ideas into commercially viable IoT products," Mr So said.
Ends/Monday, October 19, 2015
Issued at HKT 18:24
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