Hong Kong Startup News Round Up - 16 Dec 2018

The Mills Fabrica unveils its new techstyle innovation center

The Mills Fabrica has just unveiled its new center for techstyle innovation based in The Mills in Tsuen Wan. The Mills Fabrica is the innovation arm of The Mills, a revitalization project by the Nan Fung group transforming their old textiles factories into a new heritage and innovation center.

With the grand opening of The Mills this month, The Mills Fabrica officially launches a new open platform for techstyle innovation with a mission to create techstyle startup success stories and to build a global techstyle community. The 3 key focus areas are materials and supply chain innovation, wearables and products merging technology and style and new retail experiences. Fabrica’s core functions are threefold: a business incubator, fund and space/lab/store. The integrated approach is designed to support startups in Hong Kong and provide them with the necessary means to take their business to the next level on a global scale.

Green Monday gets $250K for converting 1.6M Hong Kongers to plant-based diet

The Roddenberry Foundation, inspired by the late “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, awarded $250,000 to the vegan startup Green Monday for converting 1.6 million Hong Kongers to a plant-based diet.

Founded by HK entrepreneur David Yeung, the maker of vegan pork product Omnipork and owner of vegan-friendly market and cafe chain Green Common, Green Monday invites the Asian community to give plant-based meals a try. Its efforts include partnering with LiveKindly to expand its media reach and collaborating with the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Lee Woo Sing College to offer a credit-bearing “Future of Food: Plant-based Living” course.

“Everyone can be an agent of change. Every day can be Earth Day. The time is always right to do what is right. And the easiest and most impactful way you can help yourself and the planet is by reducing your meat consumption and shifting to a more plant-based diet.” says Yeung.

Investors are still optimistic about Hong Kong despite US-China trade war, says InvestHK director general

The investment outlook in Hong Kong remains optimistic despite tensions arising from the US-China trade war, according to InvestHK.

Director general, Stephen Phillips, made the bullish forecast as the agency’s data showed that the number of business operations with parent companies outside Hong Kong climbed 6.4 per cent to 8,754 this year, compared to 8,225 in 2017. The number of regional headquarters also grew 8 per cent to 1,530 from 1,413 last year.

The number of start-ups also increased to 2,625 this year, up 18 per cent from 2,229 in 2017. The start-ups employed a total of 9,548 people, a 51 per cent rise over 6,320 in 2017. Of the founders, 62 per cent were from Hong Kong, and 35 per cent from outside the city, of whom 17 per cent came from Britain, 16 per cent from the US, 12 per cent from the mainland and 9 per cent from Australia.

Stan Group & Jumpstart Media Launch ‘The STILE’ Initiative

Stan Group (Holdings) Limited has announced that it is collaborating with Jumpstart Media Limited to launch The STILE Initiative. The STILE Initiative is a residential incubation program for startups in Asia Pacific. It provides accommodation, office space, and investment for startups. The programme also introduces a conditional follow-on funding scheme for high-performing incubatees who meet growth expectations after completing the programme.

Stan Group manages more than 30 respected brands across property, hospitality and catering services, telecoms and advertising, financial services and social innovation development. By leveraging this portfolio, a maximum of seven startups - selected through Jumpstart's platform from 11 cities in Southeast Asia and Australia will be accepted into each cohort.

Deliveroo is opening its first bricks-and-mortar location

Online food delivery app, Deliveroo, has opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant, located on 58 High Street, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. If all goes well, the startup valued at $2 billion, will expand the concept globally.

Deliveroo Food Market will serve as both a kitchen for delivering online orders, as well as a consumer-facing storefront where consumers can choose from 15 dining concepts.

“We find there is an opportunity to bring our online to offline model to our customers,” Brian Lo, General Manager of Deliveroo says. “Hong Kong is one of the most expensive rental prices, so the pressure on restaurant operators is very high and this model works very well for them.” Lo said its restaurant partners in the Hong Kong neighborhood of Wanchai generate margins that are high for the food and beverage industry, ranging between 10 to 15 percent.