Hong Kong has seen a staggering increase in its number of technology start-ups in the past 10 years. At last count, InvestHK identified over 2,000 new registrations in one year!

In turn, the ecosystem that supports the entrepreneurial community has experienced equally rapid growth. From incubator programmes to angel investor platforms, co-working spaces to knowledge-sharing workshops, the city is brimming with energy and ideas all seeking to be the next success story.

But how does Hong Kong’s start-up environment compare to others in the region, and is this a sustainable location for growth? Are we providing the support that’s needed to not only initiate ideas but also to help them go global?

In celebration of its 10-Year Anniversary, the British Chamber of Commerce’s Business Angel Programme, sponsored by Baker Tilly, has invited a star-studded panel of start-ups and angel investors to discuss the various angles of entrepreneurship in Hong Kong:

- Elliot Leung, Founder of Gaifong, will share the challenges he faces as an early-stage start-up in Hong Kong

- Jonathan Berney, Co-founder of Chayora, will discuss the path to becoming a mature business with data centres across China

- Neil Orvay, Chair of the Chamber’s Business Angel Programme, will explain the role of angel investors in bringing ideas to market

- Tak Lo, Partner of Zeroth.ai, will provide a global perspective on the startup ecosystem and how to match entrepreneurs with suitable investment partners

- Napoleon Biggs, Founder of Web Wednesday, will moderate the conversation, peppering it with his own anecdotes as a digital marketing and ecommerce entrepreneur.

Join us for a frank and revealing session as we discuss the joys and hardships of starting and funding new businesses in Hong Kong.

About the speakers

Elliot Leung is founder and CEO of Gaifong. Launched in 2016, Gaifong is Hong Kong's largest peer-to-peer marketplace for consumer goods rentals, with 10,000 items for rent, worth over $5,000,000. Gaifong was selected as one of Top 20 Startups to Watch in Hong Kong in 2016, and has secured funding from the BritCham Business Angel Programme, among others. From Q4 2017 onwards, Gaifong will be available in multiple cities and languages around the world.

With over 25 years of international business, property development and construction experience, Jonathan Berney, before joining Chayora was Regional Managing Partner for EC Harris in Asia where he spent three years leading and successfully growing the company’s Asian business through a number of significant property and real estate deals.

Jonathan has worked in Asia for more than 20 years and has very strong relationships with the corporate occupier market, particularly in financial services, having previously led EC Harris’s global Corporate Real Estate and Critical Systems team. Prior to moving to Asia, he led a number of development and asset organisations through significant transformations in order to maximise their development and operational performance. These included BAA, Land Securities, London and Continental Railways, Rail Procurement Agency and the Grosvenor Estate.

Neil Orvay is the Chair of the British Chamber of Commerce Angel Investment Committee. A Capital Markets Investment Banker of 13 years, Neil worked in London, Sydney, Singapore and Hong Kong before establishing his first entrepreneurial venture with spa 'Sense of Touch' in 2002, which is now a top internationally recognised spa brand with nine locations in Hong Kong and multiple industry awards. Neil also owns Evolution-U, a training consultancy focusing on NLP Communication, Influence, Profiling, Sales & Negotiation skills. He has trained over 2,000 executives from sectors including banking & finance, government and manufacturing.

Neil holds a BSc (hons) degree in Accountancy and Financial Analysis from the London School of Economics and Political Science and is a Visiting Teaching Fellow of Edinburgh Napier University. He is a Certified Trainer of Neuro Linguistic Programming (ABNLP), a Time Line Therapy Trainer (TLTA), Master Hypnotherapist (ABH) and an ICF Accredited Coach.

About the Moderator

Napoleon Biggs is a reputed digital marketing specialist and senior advisor on emerging communications and ecommerce practices in Asia. He is well-known as the hard-hitting host of “Web Wednesday”, a community of 6,000 internet entrepreneurs and digital media executives. He has over 17 years’ experience in the Internet in Asia and speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese.