Cyberport’s Dr. Toa Charm talks to us about how Hong Kong embraces digital innovation

Hong Kong is strategic; it is a gateway to a huge market in China and is in the heart of Asia.still central enough to Asia to access the rest of it. Hong Kong is progressive, entrepreneurial, beginning to welcome a younger workforce, and is home of many large global enterprises.

But what of its startup ecosystem? How is digital innovation faring in Hong Kong?

We got the chance to talk to Cyberport’s Chief Public Mission Officer, Dr. Toa Charm, who works on developing strategies and initiatives to deliver Cyberport’s public mission. Dr. Charm has over 25 years of extensive leadership experience in FinTech, big data, business intelligence, and enterprise solutions, and brings with him a wealth of experience from private consultancy, public administration, and academic sectors.

An evolving business landscape

The Hong Kong business landscape is an interesting one, such that while entrepreneurship is one of the key foundations, it was only in the last couple of years that digital innovation became widespread. Companies have their old ways of doing business and their own culture that is rooted in the traditional – Hong Kong did not have a lot of digital tech startups as close as 5 years ago – but that foundation of entrepreneurship served as platform for international startups to come into Hong Kong and bringing fresh ideas that led to growing interest in digital innovation.

But that is changing now, according to Dr. Charm. A lot of companies, including banks and retail stores, are now using technology to solve real-world problems. There is a lot of cooperation going on between digital tech startups and large corporations to drive innovation, and a lot of the young people (44 per cent of the region’s population is below the age of 40) are showing interest in bringing positive impact to the society through the use of technology and innovation.

 

Hong Kong’s vibrant startup ecosystem

The startup ecosystem in Hong Kong rapidly evolved, despite the previously mentioned cultural and organisational circumstances where companies prefer their traditional (manual) ways. But Hong Kong has always been a dynamic region, and once the startup evolution has begun, the community rolled with it.

Dr. Charm said that there is a collaborative environment in Hong Kong, one where various members of the business community work together to achieve their goals. Startups work with large enterprises to develop solutions rooted in technology. Universities work with the business community to nurture students leaning toward entrepreneurship and tech innovation. The government is putting a lot of policies and funding in place to foster the ecosystem.

 

This collaborative environment is needed, according to Dr. Charm, especially for companies to start embracing innovation into their product/services and even within the company. When asked what he thinks is stopping these companies from fully adopting technology, Dr. Charms says that it may be as simple as the lack of technological know-how, information, or resources. Companies may simply not know where to start, and working with a community that understands both the traditional way of doing things and the need for innovation may be the right push that these companies need.

This leads to the importance of educating all parties; traditional companies need to know how technology can create positive gains for their business, while startups need to understand SMEs real problems so that they are able to develop solutions addressing their needs.

But the ecosystem is getting there, Dr. Charm said. Compared to 5 years ago, there are more open collaborations between innovators and traditional SMEs.

 

Cyberport, the springboard to success

As Chief Public Mission Officer of Cyberport, Dr. Charm works on delivering Cyberport’s public mission. Cyberport is a digital community with close to 900 digital tech companies, including Asia’s largest travel experience platform Klook, delivery-van booking platform GoGoVan, and mobile wallet TNG, with the vision to become a main force in developing the digital tech industry as a key economic driver of Hong Kong.

Cyberport supports entrepreneurs in every step of their entrepreneurial and innovative journey. For enterpreneurs-to-be who need mentorship, inspiration, and a way to be exposed to technology and entrepreneurship, there is Cyberport University Partnership Programme (CUPP). For entrepreneurs seeking business resources to get their idea off the ground, there is the Cyberport Incubation Programme.

The Cyberport University Partnership Programme is a FinTech-focussed entrepreneurship programme offered to university students. The students would undergo a series of pre-camp nurturing sessions arranged by Cyberport and institutional partners, a tailor-made Entrepreneurship Bootcamp at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, be mentored and have access to insights from the FinTech industry experts, have the chance to pitch their idea to a panel of judges, get seed funding, and even get opportunity join the Cyberport Incubation Programme interview session.

The Cyberport Incubation Programme, on the other hand, provides startups with the business resources to accelerate their growth from a viable business plan to a product.

According to Dr. Charm, these programmes give the participants a wealth of support to help them scale and springboard to success, so that they can capture the many opportunities the world has to offer – from mainland China, APEC, to the Belt and Road and beyond.

 

The next big thing

Hong Kong can be the next big thing, Dr. Charm said. But there is a lot that the ecosystem needs to do. As long as it maintains the open and collaborative environment it has, Hong Kong is on the right track to become one of the biggest digital hubs in the world. The next 3-5 years are important, with companies understanding that to be able be globally competitive, they need to be innovative enough and open enough to partner with those that could help you gain competitive advantage.

Hong Kong is the becoming the poster child of what an ecosystem can achieve when all the players inside it – universities, startups, incubators, accelerators, corporates, and the government – collaborate and support each other to build an environment that puts digital innovation at the forefront.

 

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Disclosure: This article is produced by e27 content marketing team, sponsored by Cyberport

 

Images courtesy of Cyberport

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