EdUHK to Allocate over $10M to Support Youth Start-ups in the GBA
The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) kicked off the ‘EdUHK Education And Social Entrepreneurs (EASE) Fund – The GBA Youth Entrepreneur Funding Scheme’ today (10 December), marking the launch of quadripartite collaboration among the government, commercial, academic and research sectors. The Scheme enables EdUHK’s 14 winning start-up teams to realise their business plans step by step, while developing an ecosystem within the higher education sector, in which they can grow.
The ceremony was held at K11 ATELIER Victoria Dockside, with officiating guests including Hon Elizabeth Quat Pui-fan, LegCo Member and Board Member of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation; Mr Ian Chan Chi-hang, Chief Corporate Development Officer of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited; Mr Jonathan Chan Pok-chi, Chairman of the Task Force on Youth Development Fund and Programmes under the Youth Development Commission; Professor Wilton Chau Chi-wai, Chairman of the Pan Asia Venture Development Platform; and EdUHK Deputy Council Chairman Dr Terence Chan Ho-wah, Treasurer Ms Imma Ling Kit-sum, President Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-leung, Vice President (Research and Development) Professor Chetwyn Chan Che-hin and Director of Knowledge Transfer Professor Stephen Chow Cheuk-fai.
In his speech, Professor Cheung remarked that the purpose of quadripartite collaboration is to provide financial support and share experience, so that the young people can put their innovative ideas into actions. He added, “To keep these start-up businesses running or expanding, we need a group of professional mentors to provide entrepreneurial support for our young people, connecting their high potential start-up projects with the business world.”
Established in 2018, the EdUHK EASE Fund provides seed funding to EdUHK students, staff and alumni to nurture entrepreneurship as a means of transferring knowledge for the betterment of society. With strong support from the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, EdUHK will offer total funding of $7.5 million to the winning teams this year. This is in addition to other resources worth $3.8 million, which include talks by renowned angel investors, entrepreneurs and start-up company managers, as well as provision of entrepreneurial mentoring and advice. On top of this support, over 120 hours of entrepreneurial workshops will be provided to those interested in developing their start-up career in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). This will enhance presentation skills and business-plan writing. A cross-disciplinary and inter-university entrepreneurial team-matching platform was also created to promote an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
During the event, 14 start-up teams demonstrated their proposals. One of the start-up teams, “KeWeYA (可為也)”, aims to develop a comprehensive online career platform, offering interactive items and career information. It guides students and teachers in careers, with virtual job experiences, and nurturing talents to meet the needs of corporations and society. One of the founders, Miss Fung Kam-ting, said she is grateful to her mentor for the valuable advice which has greatly benefitted the team. “It is a great honour to be selected as one of the start-up teams, with the opportunity to realise our ideas, build a career with our dreams, and contribute to society,” she said.
Appendix: Introduction of 14 EdUHK EASE Fund Teams
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EdUHK to Allocate over $10M to Support Youth Start-ups in the GBA
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