Hong Kong start-up festival strives to draw 20,000 attendees amid city’s push to be a tech hub
- StartmeupHK, which takes place in November this year, will mark its first full return to physical events since the Covid-19 pandemic
- The conference is seen as a bellwether for sentiment in the Hong Kong tech industry, which was endorsed by President Xi Jinping
The StartmeupHK Festival, Hong Kong’s government-backed annual showcase for young technology companies, aims to attract more than 20,000 attendees to its first fully physical event since the Covid-19 pandemic, as the city woos global talent and investment in a push to become an innovation hub.
The conference will take place from November 8 to 17 this year, with events covering themes from health and environmental technologies to Web3 and property tech, according to InvestHK, Hong Kong’s investment promotion agency and the organiser of the event.
The bureau expects the festival to feature more than 500 speakers and draw thousands of participants from more than 100 countries and regions, InvestHK said on Tuesday.
This year marks the first full return to offline events for StartmeupHK in three years, according to Jayne Chan, head of StartmeupHK. A global health emergency had disrupted international travel and prevented many participants from attending in person in previous years.
More than 20,000 people joined last year’s festival, which included both online and offline events, Chan said.
The conference is seen as a bellwether for sentiment in the Hong Kong tech industry, which is looking to receive a policy boost from the local government.