Hong Kong start-ups should 'look to China', not the US, to grow their businesses

Hong Kong’s entrepreneurs should turn their sights to mainland China rather than the United States or Europe to expand their markets, according to entrepreneur-turned-investor Edith Yeung.

Yeung, a partner at the 500 Mobile Collective Fund, which focuses on investing in mobile phone apps, said the vibrant mainland market has a lot to offer tech start-ups, particularly in mobile internet and e-commerce.

“I want to challenge any Hong Kong entrepreneur, just being so close to China, to really take some time to learn what is going on in the China market. It’s very fascinating, especially in mobile internet,” Yeung said during a visit to Hong Kong for the Digital Entrepreneur Leadership Forum at Cyberport.

“Understanding this landscape [in the mainland] would position Hong Kong really well, but I think that most of the young entrepreneurs end up just wanting to look at Hong Kong… or many of them will start thinking about the US,” Yeung said.

Hong Kong’s limited market size has already seen some local start-ups, including custom mobile phone case firm Casetify, move part of their operations to the United States.