Hong Kong Youth Greater Bay Area Entrepreneurship Forum
Hong Kong Youth Greater Bay Area Entrepreneurship Forum
Government and private sector support to create diverse financing and mutual recognition channels for Hong Kong youth.
(6 May 2025, Hong Kong) Hong Kong Coalition, Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF) and Hong Kong Cyberport are co-organising the "Hong Kong Youth Entrepreneurship in the Greater Bay Area Forum" today. In-depth discussions will be carried out among representatives from government departments, business leaders, representatives from innovation and entrepreneurial bases in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), and Hong Kong entrepreneurs who have successfully established their businesses in the GBA, focusing on issues such as entrepreneurial support policies, connectivity of industrial resources, and market development strategies within the area.
Dr Jane Lee, President of Our Hong Kong Foundation and Deputy Secretary-General of Hong Kong Coalition and Ir Eric Chan, Chief Public Mission Officer of Cyberport delivered the opening remarks.
Dr Jane Lee said, “As the GBA continues to integrate and develop, many Hong Kong youths are seizing the advantages of both regions to start businesses there. However, cross-border entrepreneurship inevitably faces challenges due to differences in social environments, systems, and cultures. To further support youth entrepreneurship, The Hong Kong Coalition and OHKF have collaborated again to release a research report, expanding the scope to the entire GBA. The report analyzes the current pain points of entrepreneurship in the GBA and proposes ten recommendations to support both governments in further optimizing the entrepreneurial support system. These include enhancing policy alignment, integrating resources from both regions, and assisting enterprises in more easily finding business partners and financing.”
Ir Eric Chan shared during the speech, “modern technology is advancing rapidly, and the flow of information has reached unprecedented levels. The development of artificial intelligence has created numerous opportunities for young entrepreneurs. The Greater Bay Area, with its vast market and rapid growth in innovative technology applications, is driving digital transformation across various industries, presenting significant business opportunities and application scenarios for start-ups. Cyberport has consistently provided strong support for youth entrepreneurship, facilitating collaboration with other cities in the Greater Bay Area. It offers funding, training, and professional assistance to help young entrepreneurs realize their business goals. Cyberport actively explores collaborative innovations between Hong Kong and Shenzhen to jointly promote the development of industries such as artificial intelligence, assisting start-ups in expanding into the mainland market. Cyberport will continue seeking various cooperation opportunities to foster the growth of local start-ups in entering the Greater Bay Area and mainland markets, opening up more possibilities for business expansion and attracting market and investment resources.”
In his keynote speech, Mr Clarence Leung, Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs said, “The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau has consistently supported and promoted entrepreneurship among Hong Kong youth in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). Following 2019, the Bureau and Youth Development Commission have relaunched the "HYAB Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" and the "HYAB Funding Scheme for Experiential Programmes at Innovation and Entrepreneurial Bases" through the Youth Development Fund. These initiatives actively assist Hong Kong youth in seizing GBA development opportunities. The latest round of approvals was completed last year, with open recruitment set to begin this year to attract youth to experience and explore mainland innovation and entrepreneurship bases firsthand. It is expected that 600 young people will explore the vast market's entrepreneurial opportunities.”
Mr Victor Kwok, Deputy Research Director of Our Hong Kong Foundation, shared the research report titled "The Study on Hong Kong Youth Entrepreneurship Bases in the Greater Bay Area" which released recently. He said, “The 10 recommendations proposed in the report address resource integration, incubation capabilities, and the sustainability of the entire entrepreneurial base system in both regions. Currently, there is no relatively comprehensive mechanism to assist startups that have completed 2-3 years of incubation in the mainland to return to Hong Kong for further development. Establishing mutual recognition and promotion of incubation bases between the two regions would enable startups to leverage resources from both sides, enhancing the overall effectiveness of entrepreneurship.”
The warm welcome opened the forum consisting of two Keynote Addresses, the first Keynote Address themed “Fireside Chat: Stories and Challenges of Hong Kong Youth Entrepreneurship in the Greater Bay Area". They were then joined by Mr Eddy Chen, President of Esports Association of Hong Kong, China and Chairman of MEET Alumni Network, Mr Sky Tang, Founder and Managing Director of ConceptFound Smart Technology (Dongguan) Limited, Mr Raymond Chau, Founder of SeniorDeli CareEZ Asaptic, Mr Alan Lam, Founder of BrainStorm Group and Ms Lindy Liu, Co-founder of babegaga (Guangzhou) International Education Technology Co. Ltd. Ms Iris Wong, Chief Officer of Hong Kong Coalition joined on stage as session chair respectively.
The second Keynote Address themed "Greater Bay Area Entrepreneurship: New Opportunities for Hong Kong Youths". They were then joined by Mr Ricky Choi, Director of Smart Living of Cyberport, Mr Jason Choi, Director of Sunwah Group and President of Sunwah GBA, Vice Chairman of Guangdong-HK-Macao Bay Area Entrepreneurs Alliance, Mr Lawrence Shum, Chairman of New Navigator Group Limited and Mr Andy Yip, Co-founder and CEO of Gungho Space. Mr Kenny Shui, Vice President of OHKF and Executive Director of Public Policy Institute joined on stage as the session host.
Government and private sector support to create diverse financing and mutual recognition channels for Hong Kong youth.
(6 May 2025, Hong Kong) Hong Kong Coalition, Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF) and Hong Kong Cyberport are co-organising the "Hong Kong Youth Entrepreneurship in the Greater Bay Area Forum" today. In-depth discussions will be carried out among representatives from government departments, business leaders, representatives from innovation and entrepreneurial bases in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), and Hong Kong entrepreneurs who have successfully established their businesses in the GBA, focusing on issues such as entrepreneurial support policies, connectivity of industrial resources, and market development strategies within the area.
Dr Jane Lee, President of Our Hong Kong Foundation and Deputy Secretary-General of Hong Kong Coalition and Ir Eric Chan, Chief Public Mission Officer of Cyberport delivered the opening remarks.
Dr Jane Lee said, “As the GBA continues to integrate and develop, many Hong Kong youths are seizing the advantages of both regions to start businesses there. However, cross-border entrepreneurship inevitably faces challenges due to differences in social environments, systems, and cultures. To further support youth entrepreneurship, The Hong Kong Coalition and OHKF have collaborated again to release a research report, expanding the scope to the entire GBA. The report analyzes the current pain points of entrepreneurship in the GBA and proposes ten recommendations to support both governments in further optimizing the entrepreneurial support system. These include enhancing policy alignment, integrating resources from both regions, and assisting enterprises in more easily finding business partners and financing.”
Ir Eric Chan shared during the speech, “modern technology is advancing rapidly, and the flow of information has reached unprecedented levels. The development of artificial intelligence has created numerous opportunities for young entrepreneurs. The Greater Bay Area, with its vast market and rapid growth in innovative technology applications, is driving digital transformation across various industries, presenting significant business opportunities and application scenarios for start-ups. Cyberport has consistently provided strong support for youth entrepreneurship, facilitating collaboration with other cities in the Greater Bay Area. It offers funding, training, and professional assistance to help young entrepreneurs realize their business goals. Cyberport actively explores collaborative innovations between Hong Kong and Shenzhen to jointly promote the development of industries such as artificial intelligence, assisting start-ups in expanding into the mainland market. Cyberport will continue seeking various cooperation opportunities to foster the growth of local start-ups in entering the Greater Bay Area and mainland markets, opening up more possibilities for business expansion and attracting market and investment resources.”
In his keynote speech, Mr Clarence Leung, Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs said, “The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau has consistently supported and promoted entrepreneurship among Hong Kong youth in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). Following 2019, the Bureau and Youth Development Commission have relaunched the "HYAB Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" and the "HYAB Funding Scheme for Experiential Programmes at Innovation and Entrepreneurial Bases" through the Youth Development Fund. These initiatives actively assist Hong Kong youth in seizing GBA development opportunities. The latest round of approvals was completed last year, with open recruitment set to begin this year to attract youth to experience and explore mainland innovation and entrepreneurship bases firsthand. It is expected that 600 young people will explore the vast market's entrepreneurial opportunities.”
Mr Victor Kwok, Deputy Research Director of Our Hong Kong Foundation, shared the research report titled "The Study on Hong Kong Youth Entrepreneurship Bases in the Greater Bay Area" which released recently. He said, “The 10 recommendations proposed in the report address resource integration, incubation capabilities, and the sustainability of the entire entrepreneurial base system in both regions. Currently, there is no relatively comprehensive mechanism to assist startups that have completed 2-3 years of incubation in the mainland to return to Hong Kong for further development. Establishing mutual recognition and promotion of incubation bases between the two regions would enable startups to leverage resources from both sides, enhancing the overall effectiveness of entrepreneurship.”
The warm welcome opened the forum consisting of two Keynote Addresses, the first Keynote Address themed “Fireside Chat: Stories and Challenges of Hong Kong Youth Entrepreneurship in the Greater Bay Area". They were then joined by Mr Eddy Chen, President of Esports Association of Hong Kong, China and Chairman of MEET Alumni Network, Mr Sky Tang, Founder and Managing Director of ConceptFound Smart Technology (Dongguan) Limited, Mr Raymond Chau, Founder of SeniorDeli CareEZ Asaptic, Mr Alan Lam, Founder of BrainStorm Group and Ms Lindy Liu, Co-founder of babegaga (Guangzhou) International Education Technology Co. Ltd. Ms Iris Wong, Chief Officer of Hong Kong Coalition joined on stage as session chair respectively.
The second Keynote Address themed "Greater Bay Area Entrepreneurship: New Opportunities for Hong Kong Youths". They were then joined by Mr Ricky Choi, Director of Smart Living of Cyberport, Mr Jason Choi, Director of Sunwah Group and President of Sunwah GBA, Vice Chairman of Guangdong-HK-Macao Bay Area Entrepreneurs Alliance, Mr Lawrence Shum, Chairman of New Navigator Group Limited and Mr Andy Yip, Co-founder and CEO of Gungho Space. Mr Kenny Shui, Vice President of OHKF and Executive Director of Public Policy Institute joined on stage as the session host.
