Cyberport's plan starts to bear fruit
Designed to stimulate and help the growth of new companies, the city incubator is beginning to see results as entrepreneurs flock to its site
It's no Silicon Valley yet, but Cyberport is making strides to shed its image as an ill-conceived government venture, and becoming a hive for promising young technology companies in the city.
"Two years ago when we started, half the space was empty. But now, it's full," said Keith Rumjahn founder of CoachBase (formerly J-Plus), a company which produces a platform for sports coaches to animate and share game plays and strategies in real time.
Since joining Cyberport in 2011, CoachBase has grown from a one-man show into a 10-person operation that's seen more than 170,000 downloads of its software, including by the producers of the 2012 film Thunderstruck, which starred actor Jim Belushi and NBA all-star Kevin Durant.
"I honestly had no idea what [the Cyberport incubation programme] would be like. I thought, great, they'll give us money and free space ... but it turned out to be much more than that," Rumjahn said.
The incubation programmes are designed to aid the growth of new companies by offering mentorships, training and access to loans and investors. They also help with presentation skills and regulatory compliance needs, among other aspects of creating a new business. Applications for Cyberport's incubation and Microfund programmes were up, said Cyberport CEO Herman Lam Heung-yeung, with more than 300 start-ups vying for this current round of applications.
Private incubators were also setting up shop in the city.
"Hive, Nest, The Good Lab, CoCoon, maybe around 10 or so have started up in Hong Kong over the past 24 months," Lam said. "When the private sector comes in and engages, it means the market is getting stronger."