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Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) today (August 29) announced that its StartmeupHK Venture Programme 2013 has drawn an overwhelming response with 380 entries from entrepreneur-led businesses in 43 countries and cities worldwide.
The largest number of entries came from Hong Kong (18 per cent), followed by Israel and the US (11 per cent each), Canada (7 per cent), and the UK and India (5 per cent each). Entrants are diverse, ranging from mobile marketing apps and new medical and health-care technologies to clean tech management, business-to-business e-marketing and more.
Assessors will select 20 semi-finalists from the 380 applications and, after a series of interviews in late September, 12 finalists will be picked to participate in the StartmeupHK Week from December 4 to 7 in Hong Kong. At the Venture Programme Forum on December 5, featuring venture capital guru Mr Tim Draper, three Grand Award Winners will be chosen from the 12 finalists by a panel of judges and Forum attendees.
The Director-General of Investment Promotion, Mr Simon Galpin, was delighted by the number of applicants to the Venture Programme, which he said was an indication of Hong Kong's appeal for start-up businesses.
"Hong Kong offers an ideal foothold and a great opportunity for entrepreneur-led businesses from all over the world to scale up and go global," Mr Galpin said.
Details of the StartmeupHK Venture Programme 2013 are available on the dedicated website www.startmeup.hk. The site offers a one-stop portal for 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 take responsibility for 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 2013, InvestHK has completed over 2 900 investment projects creating more than 33 000 new jobs in the first year of operation or expansion and over HK$76 billion of investment. For more information, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk.
Ends/Thursday, August 29, 2013
Issued at HKT 12:13
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