What You Need to Know About StartmeupHK Festival 2022

Organised by InvestHK, under the theme of “A Future Unlimited,” the annual StarmeupHK Festival will be returning for its 2022 run between Sept. 5 and 10. For the budding entrepreneur and businessperson looking to boost their careers, the StartmeupHK Festival offers a brilliant environment to gain a leg up on the latest trends across the most disruptive new industries.

The initiative was founded with the mission to encourage the establishment of new innovations as well as the expansion of scalable startups in Hong Kong. This year’s edition will be showcasing seven main big events, as well as a collection of community events.

Touching upon the industries covered by the festival, InvestHK Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion Charles Ng ascribes the range to the city’s enduring progress despite the pandemic. Ng notes that “as the pandemic changes society’s habits, digitalisation has accelerated, resulting in numerous advancements in artificial intelligence technology, robotics, and healthcare.”

Each event is open to attendees not just locally but also via online access from across the globe. The week-long convention will consist of keynotes from esteemed business leaders, panel discussions, startup pitches, competitions, hackathons, job fairs, and even matchmaking for investors to engage with eager new entrepreneurs.

City Industries

Kickstarting the convention, the GBA Innovation Summit 2022 presented by TusPark (Tsinghua University Science Park) introduces the potential for FinTech, green finance, automation, and sustainability within the up-and-coming Greater Bay Area. Possible opportunities and difficulties of expanding into the region will be covered, giving insight into the points businesses will have to consider.

On day five (Sept. 9) of the festival, KPMG will be presenting The Connected Cities Conference on future-focused ways of city living. Case studies of successful “smart cities” around the world will be demonstrated and will serve to propose new means of metropolitan living and working, in addition to ideas for enforcing sustainability effectively in urban settings.

Digital Dash

Examining buzzword of the year and a novel invention that is quickly accelerating, the Scaleup Impact Summit 2022 – Universe x Metaverse summit held from Sept. 6-7 makes use of the tech in-question to provide a platform for discussion about Web.30, industry 4.0, quantum computing, food technology, game finance, and even newer disruptive fields to come. Festivalgoers may drop by in person or through the metaverse and may also have the chance to mint some limited-edition NFTs.

There is also the one-and-a-half-day Game On! 2022 from Sept. 8-9, hosted by MaGESpire, which bridges together the spheres of art, gaming, music, and entertainment. Taking to the topics of DeFi, GameFi, NFT ecosystems, IP rights, and more, the summit brings to light new updates most impactful to the realm of entertainment.

A Greener World

Held on day one (Sept. 5), the dually online and offline 1.5°C Summit – The Defining Decade for Impact with Tech is an environmentalism-driven event focusing on how tech can be utilised to enact practical shifts in the face of climate change. From net-zero focused electricity, to reducing energy use through green architecture, to improved transportation and waste systems, the segment poses many possibilities for the global future. Following the event on Sept. 10 is the the Young Pioneers Forum, whereby over 500 teens from all over the world will attend to gain experience in striving towards a more sustainable future.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling

On Sept. 5, the all-new Women Scale-Ups section will launch two fireside chats and a follow-up networking event geared towards female founders. The talks are scheduled to run at Garage Society in Wan Chai, while being concurrently live-streamed. Supported by the educational and coaching platform Next Chapter Raise, businesswomen can gain greater industry knowledge, skills, and even funding sources, by way of joining their ever-growing community.

A Stake in Health

Inviting healthcare experts from all over Asia, the Asia Healthcare Innovation Summit 2022 examines the facets of our region’s constantly developing healthcare industries to further drive new solutions and innovations. Having been highly important over the past few years especially, the sectors of BioTech, HealthTech, MedTech, and blockchain adaptation will be explored.

Space for PropTech

On Sept. 8, the hybrid Asia PropTech Beyond 2022 summit will be shedding light on the integration of technology into real estate and the properties industry. A follow up on Sept. 10 will introduce the PropTech for Youth programme as well, as outreach to young talent.

Click here for a full programme list, and to find out more on each event. Tickets can be purchased through event pages.