Digitalisation is transforming Hong Kong’s traditional pillar industries – such as finance, trade, professional services and property. At the same time the city is seeking to further diversify its economy and is placing innovation & technology (I&T) front-and-centre in its development plans.
Like many parents of young children, Australian expatriates Jade Poon and Natalie Chow found their Hong Kong homes were becoming cluttered with toys – many of which their toddlers no longer even played with. Friends since their schooldays and keen to live more sustainably, the pair decided this was wasteful. So in April 2019, Ms Poon, a human resources executive, and Ms Chow, a marketing executive-turned-entrepreneur, came up with the idea to establish Happy Baton, Hong Kong’s first toy rental subscription service.
Social-distancing rules led to many nail salons closing during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting two university classmates to step out of their comfort zones and invest a significant sum in starting up a home-based nail art business. The duo design and produce relatively environmentally friendly and easy-to-use nail art stickers that allow even novices to easily decorate their own nails.
Kung Wo Tong has been a well-established business for more than 100 years in Hong Kong. The company uses secret recipes passed down from the Qing dynasty to produce a herbal jelly using Guiling paste. The founder's granddaughter started her own business in recent years with her own brand Gui Ling Yuan Fang, aiming to modernise Hong Kong’s herbal tea culture and promote the concept of health preservation to a younger consumer base.
Two of the many issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting control measures were limited opportunities for exercise, especially indoors, and idle space in commercial buildings. Hong Kong entrepreneur Dinesh Nihalchand has come up with what he believes is a future-proof solution for the fitness business that offers contactless personal training while optimising under-utilised real-estate assets at the same time.
Moving into its 14th edition, Entrepreneur Day (E-Day) will be held in a hybrid format in 2022 to engage participants from all over the world. Under the “Balance Beyond the Boom” theme, this year’s E-Day will explore the development of an international start-up ecosystem in the wake of the start-up boom, helping new enterprises tap into global markets and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership member regions in particular.
A serial entrepreneur based in Hong Kong for more than 20 years, France-born Sophie Martineau set up her medical supplies business Aquila Healthcare under the brand AquilaVIE in 2020. The launch was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, when demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks rapidly outpaced supply.
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