The 2021 StartmeupHK Festival virtual format offers participants a unique opportunity to gain insights and valuable business knowledge like never before, with unparalleled access to the minds behind some of the world’s most exciting startups. Throughout the week, there will be keynotes, panel discussions, exhibitions, investor matching, hackathons, and job fairs. Events are open to attendees across the globe for free, with additional paid premium sessions for ShaperZ by Finnovasia, GBA Innovation Summit by TusPark Hong Kong and Scaleup Impact Summit by WHub. Key topics up for discussion include AI, fintech, ESG, smart cities, healthcare, proptech and the impact of the Greater Bay Area development initiative.

“The StartmeupHK Festival 2021 will be a fantastic showcase of the many opportunities that Hong Kong offers to startups both locally and internationally,” says Stephen Phillips, Director-General of Investment Promotion at InvestHK. “Collaborating with our strong partners, participants will benefit from the insights of leaders in their fields from around the world and demonstrate Hong Kong’s leading position as an incubator and test-bed for what’s new and what’s next that will impact how we live and do business in the future. Although the world has faced overwhelming disruption, there are consequently many exciting opportunities for startups to unlock. The Festival will provide an opportunity for participants to step-back and do what startups do so well – conceive new ideas to solve contemporary challenges. Indeed “welcome to the future unlimited’”

Day 1 (24 May) of the Festival will see the start of ShaperZ. Hosted by event partner Finnovasia, the event will bring the latest technological innovations to SMEs, scale-ups and corporates – no matter the industry of the companies, attendees will learn digital solutions, connections and the skills needed for transforming their business. PropTech Asia and Beyond hosted by Asia PropTech, also starting on day one, is a one and half day conference highlighting the evolution of real estate and the urban landscape through identifying forward-thinking startups, and hosting keynote speeches and panel discussions to highlight how property companies are using the latest technologies to address real-life challenges and global issues.

Day 2 (25 May) will play host to the GBA Innovation Summit by TusPark Hong Kong, which will explore how to use technological innovation as the driving force to form a strong and resilient Greater Bay Area development path. Meanwhile, the Scaleup Impact Summit 2021 presented by WHub, will command the attention of futurists on Day 2 and Day 3 (25 to 26 May), focusing on scale-ups and businesses in the global ecosystem that are pushing innovation to the higher level and change the world.

Day 4 (27 May) will see the exciting Connected Cities Conference hosted by KPMG in full swing, showcasing innovations for the next generation of city living and featuring global and regional speakers from government, academia, business and leading entrepreneurs to showcase examples of a number of smart and connected cities and technologies from around the world including IoT, AI and data analytics to enhance a city’s liveability, workability and sustainability.

Held in Hong Kong for the first time, the Startup World Cup Asian Regional Finale 2021 hosted by Pegasus Tech Ventures, a global venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, is a not-to-miss event on Day 4 and Day 5 (27 to 28 May). The world-class startup event will bring together founders from Asia vying for crown of best Asian startup, and the opportunity to compete at the global finals in San Francisco, alongside sharing from top startups, venture capitalists and enterprises.

Day 5 (28 May), the last day of the Festival, will end on a strong note with the GBA Hackathon 2021 hosted by Startup Salad. Conducted on an online co-innovate system, the four-hour final pitch event will be facilitated with mentoring, brainstorming, and team work for attendees.

Throughout the week, more not-to-miss main events will include the following:

24 May – AI for All & Making Money with AI by IoTIot.In
24 May – Female Funding Fair by Next Chapter Raise
26 May – Thriving Together – Trends of Startups and ESG Investors by Asia Society
27 May – Asia Healthcare Innovation Summit by Brinc
27 May – Virtual Fintech Forum by Virtual Fintech Fair
28 May – 1.5°C – The Defining Decade for Impact with Tech by Eureka Nova, New World Group
28 May – Ecosystem Summit by The Mills Fabrica

To register a place and find out more information about the StartmeupHK Festival 2021, visit [https://www.startmeup.hk/startmeuphk-festival-2021/].