Category: Startups

Olympus Announces Launch of Olympus Asia Pacific Innovation Program

As part of Olympus‘ dedication to continuing its history of innovation, Olympus is proud to announce the inaugural Olympus Asia Pacific Innovation Program (OAIP).

Olympus Corporation (Olympus), a global medtech company committed to making people’s lives healthier, safer and more fulfilling, has partnered with MedTech Innovator Asia Pacific, the industry’s largest healthcare accelerator, to facilitate the OAIP running throughout 2023.

Over a century old, Olympus has a rich heritage in the field of medical device innovation, having made a substantial impact on lives, with a portfolio of solutions that provide treatment for approximately 100[1] diseases or conditions, including the top four[2] of five cancers by global incidence rates. Olympus believes that the emergence of new technologies, particularly those within the digital realm, will revolutionize the patient care paradigm. Patient outcomes will be improved by optimizing the care pathway for individual patients based on their unique needs.

Olympus invites visionary startups to contribute to this revolution by participating in the OAIP and submitting their technologies that play a meaningful role in the advancement of minimally invasive care and new ways to detect, monitor, and treat conditions and diseases. Shortlisted startups will be invited to pitch across various in-person and virtual pitch events in front of Olympus executives and leaders over two phases from May 2023 to September 2023, with the winning innovator receiving grant funding of $75,000 as well as an exclusive mentorship program with key thought leaders from within Olympus.

Felicia Chung, Olympus Business Development Leader for the Asia Pacific region said “I am pleased to announce Olympus’ first-ever Innovation Program that seeks to identify and collaborate with innovators in the very exciting medtech space. APAC is a hotbed of innovative and bold ideas, especially in the space of digital solutions, and we are excited to uncover promising technologies that positively impact human health and create tangible value for providers and patients. We look forward to kick-starting this program and to playing a meaningful role in the advancement of minimally invasive care by identifying new ways to detect, monitor, and treat conditions and diseases.”

Marc Radatt, CEO for Olympus Corporation of Asia Pacific Limited and board member of the Asia Pacific Medical Technology Association (APACMed), said “Olympus is proud to have partnered with MedTech Innovator Asia Pacific in pursuit of new ideas that will revolutionize patient outcomes and increase access to new technologies through the OAIP. Initiatives like these promote industry wide collaboration, and access to valuable funding and mentorships that result in meaningful change and facilitate greater medtech thought leadership across our region.”

To apply for the OAIP, please visit:
https://medtechinnovator.org/olympusapac2023/

Participation Criteria
Visionaries are invited to submit solutions that play a meaningful role in the advancement of minimally invasive care and new ways to detect, monitor, and treat conditions and diseases.

Of particular interest are technologies focused on cancers and diseases of the stomach, colon, and lungs, and within the urology specialty. Examples may include:

  • Smart endoscopy, enabling early detection and advanced endoluminal therapy/treatment
  • Robotics, sensing, monitoring, and navigation technology for future autonomy in minimally invasive diagnosis/surgery/treatment
  • Transformation of the patient care pathway from pre-surgery planning through post-surgical care, supported by, for example:
    • AI for clinical efficiency & predictive analysis
    • 3D/4D image reconstruction for surgical procedures
  • Novel device/procedural solutions that may replace current procedures or offer an alternative to drug treatments
  • Innovations that enable non- or less-invasive diagnosis, surgery, and treatment
  • Ethical AI / digitally enabled technologies
  • Next-generation automated documentation
  • Smart gastro clinics and remote patient monitoring related to gut health

Through the OAIP, Olympus aims to identify the next revolutionary solution that will help to elevate the standard of care for patients globally, in line with Olympus’ purpose of making people’s lives safer, healthier and more fulfilling.

About Olympus
As a leading medical technology company, Olympus’ Medical Business uses innovative capabilities in medical technology, therapeutic intervention, and precision manufacturing to help healthcare professionals deliver diagnostic, therapeutic, and minimally invasive procedures to improve clinical outcomes, reduce overall costs, and enhance the quality of life for patients. Olympus’ Medical portfolio includes endoscopes, laparoscopes, and video imaging systems, as well as surgical energy devices, customer solutions, medical services, and a wide range of endotherapy instruments for endoscopic and therapeutic applications. For more information, visit www.olympus-global.com and follow our global Twitter account: @Olympus_Corp.

About MedTech Innovator
Based in Los Angeles, Calif., MedTech Innovator is the largest accelerator of medical device companies in the world and the premier startup accelerator in the medical technology industry. Its mission is to improve the lives of patients by accelerating the growth of companies that are transforming the health care system. MedTech Innovator matches health care industry leaders with innovative early stage and emerging-growth medtech companies for mentorship and support. To date, MedTech Innovator has supported 509 alumni that have gone on to raise $6 billion in follow-on funding, and brought more than 200 products to regulatory clearance or approval. For more information, visit MedTech Innovator and follow @MedTechAwards on Twitter and MedTech Innovator on LinkedIn. To receive industry insights and highlights about MedTech Innovator’s current and alumni participant companies, subscribe to its monthly newsletter.

[1] As of March 2022
[2] Lung, stomach, colon, and prostate cancers – the top four highest incidence of cancers excluding breast cancer, as of March 2022. Source: GLOBAL CAN 2020

Entrepreneur Day and Start-up Express help innovators adapt to the post-pandemic era

Guiding entrepreneurs through maturing ecosystem

Seeking a balance between the youthful enthusiasm of start-ups and steady performance of established firms has become a key issue for Hong Kong, as its entrepreneur ecosystem matures. The HKTDC Entrepreneur Day (E-day) and Start-up Express International, organised by The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), brought together industry leaders, experts, start-ups and participants to discuss the shift towards sustainable and inclusive growth within the international start-up universe and how start-ups can address the pressing challenges of the post-pandemic era. The three-day E-Day ran from 30 November to today and included the debut of the Start-up Express International entrepreneurship development programme.

Under the theme “Balance Beyond the Boom”, the E-day attracted over 9,000 attendees and viewers from 44 countries and regions to the hybrid exhibition and seminars
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, E-day incorporated the 12th World SME Summit, co-organised by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Business
Overseas start-ups from Mainland China, Germany and Korea discuss health tech trends with three Hong Kong Start-up Express winners

Under the theme “Balance Beyond the Boom”, E-day and Start-up Express International offered physical and online seminars and exhibitions. More than 60 industry experts and renowned speakers analysed venture capital trends, offering insights on emerging industries and strategies for business expansion in a post-pandemic new normal through a series of forums, exhibitions, workshops and networking events. The event attracted over 9,000 attendees and viewers from 44 countries and regions to the hybrid exhibition and seminars.

HKTDC Assistant Executive Director Stephen Liang said: “E-day saw entrepreneurs from different sectors exchange their views on the various trends shaping the world of business. In particular, we are delighted that outstanding Hong Kong start-ups shone alongside their global peers at the pioneering Start-up Express International. The contest between local and international start-ups inspires enhanced business models and nurtures start-ups locally and globally. We believe E-day has served as an exceptional occasion to showcase Hong Kong’s supportive infrastructure for the incubation of young businesses which will surely attract even more outstanding start-ups looking to expand operations in Hong Kong.”

Fundraising in a competitive environment
Winning an investor’s trust takes more than just a compelling pitch. Gaining trust has become even more challenging during the pandemic, where investors are cautious with fund deployment. On the first day of E-day, Eric Manlunas, Founder & Managing Partner of Wavemaker Partners, shared how venture capital firms had positioned themselves amid heightened volatility in the plenary session T-Chat – Global VC Investment: Rise or Fall. Mr Manlunas offered guidance on how early-stage businesses can convince investors of their potential and thrive, especially when venture capital investors are cautious about expanding portfolios.

Innovators transform entrepreneurship and economy
As non-fungible tokens (NFTs) transcend their initial role as assets and have evolved into a marketing tool, more entrepreneurs are considering NFTs as core business functions. The seminar “NFT: Eye Candy or Key to Gold?” debated whether NFTs are pure gimmicks or can expand business in a concrete way. Representatives discussed the tangible impact NFTs had on brand value and how they boosted business opportunities.

Meanwhile, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, E-day included the 12th World SME Summit, co-organised by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Business. Under the theme “Achieving re-industrialisation through innovation in the new era”, Herbert Chia, JP, Venture Partner of Sequoia Capital China, and Dr Denis Yip, CEO of ASTRI, discussed how small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs in Hong Kong could transform and re-industrialise via digitalisation and application of emerging technologies including 5G, IoT and metaverse.

The hot investment trend of sustainability has joined hands with innovation and entrepreneurship to promote a circular economy. The E-day gathered like-minded companies to explain creating sustainable supply chains, contributing to a more sustainable society. Melanie Kwok, Assistant General Manager (Sustainability) of Sino Group, outlined the Group’s experience in implementing sustainability strategies and how start-ups had helped the conglomerate achieve sustainability goals and created shared values. Ms Kwok said the Group was delighted to collaborate with two Hong Kong start-ups – archiREEF and Clearbot – to drive conservation and environmental protection in Hong Kong, and looked forward to more projects on sustainability.

Fresh start-ups meet regional names
On the final day, technology start-ups described their successful growth into regionally known brand names. For instance, Jong Yoon Kim, CEO of Yanolja, a leading Korean travel-tech unicorn, explained how it managed to ride out the COVID-19 storm as well as its plans to equip itself for a new wave of growth as international borders re-open. Mr Kim pointed out that big-tech companies such as Amazon, Netflix and Google had come to dominate many global industries but such a player had yet to emerge in the travel sector, presenting an opportunity for Yanolja to potentially fill that void. He also shared the vision and strategy to transform Yanolja into the world’s leading global travel platform.

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) is a short-term payment model that has grown in popularity among merchants and consumers, especially within the retail industry. In the afternoon, Trasy Lou Walsh, Regional Managing Director (SG, MY, HK, PH) of Atome, Asia’s leading BNPL brand, described the model’s landscape and its increasingly intense competitive environment as more credit card companies and banks joined the field to provide similar payment solutions to businesses.

Start-up Express International
To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Start-up Express entrepreneurship development programme organised by HKTDC, Start-up Express International debuted on the second day of E-day, fostering discussions among innovative minds from all over the world across overseas start-ups and their local counterparts. The programme aims to encourage high-calibre foreign start-ups to set up in Hong Kong, and is supported by global partners from Belgium, Mainland China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.

During Start-up Express International, 10 overseas winners shared the stage with eight Hong Kong Start-up Express laureates to discuss industry insights and their entrepreneurship journeys. The 10 global winners were selected by a panel of professional judges earlier. They are:

– inContAlert from Germany
– Contents.com from Italy
– Closer Inc. from Japan
– VegeSense; KnowCarbon; InxMed from Mainland China
– OTECH (Otsuka Technology) from Singapore
– AON from Korea
– MOBIQU from Turkey
– rThreat from the United States

A replay of the event, including highlights of the expo and forum, is available on-demand until 2 January 2023: https://eday.hktdc.com/conference/eday/en/programme

Websites
– HKTDC Entrepreneur Day: https://portal.hktdc.com/eday/en
– Start-up Express International: https://portal.hktdc.com/startupexpress/en/s/start-up-express-international
– Photo download: https://bit.ly/3FhlKCl

About HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong’s trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn.

Media enquiries
Please contact Hill+Knowlton Strategies:
Joyce Kwong, Tel: +852 6842 5929, Email: joyce.kwong@hkstrategies.com
Nannerl Yau, Tel: +852 6846 7888, Email: nannerl.yau@hkstrategies.com

HKTDC’s Communications & Public Affairs Department:
Clayton Lauw, Tel: +852 2584 4472, Email: clayton.y.lauw@hktdc.org
Janet Chan, Tel: +852 2584 4369, Email: janet.ch.chan@hktdc.org
Sunny Ng, Tel: +852 2584 4357, Email: sunny.sl.ng@hktdc.org

‘Balance Beyond the Boom’ – HKTDC Entrepreneur Day helps start-ups prepare for the post-pandemic landscape

  • Inaugural ‘Start-up Express International’ gets international and local start-ups talking

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) announces the launch of Entrepreneur Day, a three-day (30 November to 2 December) event with the theme of ‘Balance Beyond the Boom’. Packed with a hybrid mix of online and physical seminars and exhibitions, the event explores a diverse range of developments in the global entrepreneurial ecosystem. Through forums, exhibitions, workshops, and networking events in the “Start-up Arena”, industry leaders, experts, start-ups and participants learn how to achieve business success in the post-pandemic world. The first-ever “Start-up Express International” will also be held on 1 December bringing together local and international start-ups to exchange views and share experience, as well as encourage overseas expansion.

Organised by HKTDC, Entrepreneur Day began today. Margaret Fong, Executive Director of the HKTDC, delivered the welcoming remarks.
During the seminar, “T-Chat – Global VC Investment: Rise or Fall”, Eric Manlunas, Founder & Managing Partner of Wavemaker Partners, Duncan Chiu, Council Member (Technology and Innovation) of HKSAR Legislative Council, and Karena Belin, Co-founder of AngelHub & WHub, provided their outlook for the global venture capital market next year.
The “Start-up Zone” and “The Boosters” showcased over 30 start-ups and start-up supporting companies.

Welcoming participants to the event, Margaret Fong, Executive Director of the HKTDC, said: “We are delighted to host Entrepreneur Day in hybrid format for the first time. The pandemic has caused considerable disruption to market economies across the world. It has also hit entrepreneurs hard. Yet, I am encouraged by the new and emerging opportunities entrepreneurs are seizing, including in the digital economy. Indeed, entrepreneurs are the heartbeat of our global economy. Just like the pandemic, they disrupt the status quo. They challenge convention to enable progress. They accelerate innovation and economic growth across the globe.”

“Under the theme ‘Balance Beyond the Boom’, we will explore the trajectory of the global start-up ecosystem since the start-up boom and help start-ups gain a foothold in key markets, especially the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. To celebrate the Start-up Express’s 5th anniversary, we will launch its international series on Entrepreneur Day, when outstanding overseas early-stage start-ups will be invited to share the stage with Start-up Express winners.”

Charting the way forward with advice from experts
Entrepreneur Day featured several seminars beginning with “T-Chat – Global VC Investment: Rise or Fall?”. According to data from Dealroom, venture capital firms invested more than $675 billion in start-ups worldwide in 2021 or double the amount from the previous year. However, global capital markets have seen heightened volatility this year despite the fading impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eric Manlunas, Founder & Managing Partner of Wavemaker Partners, Duncan Chiu, Council Member (Technology and Innovation) of HKSAR Legislative Council, and Karena Belin, Co-founder of AngelHub & WHub, reviewed their investments in 2022 and shared their outlook for the global venture capital market next year. They also offered advice on how entrepreneurs can better equip themselves to raise funds in a potentially difficult environment.

Eric Manlunas said: “Despite the uncertainties of the current macro environment, global venture capital is here to stay, given the social utility it provides. Venture capital is a strong catalyst for innovation and business formation, thus its purpose is more compelling than ever [before], in spite of the current macroeconomic challenges”.

Duncan Chiu said: “Keep tracking talents. Talents attract talents. Fintech is not just [about] technologies, but still has to comply with international regulations”.

In a fast-changing world, start-ups need to be able to adapt to a dynamic environment while still being cautious about funding. The “Capture Funds at Critical Times” workshop featured Mingles Tsoi, Chief eXploration Officer of ParticleX, who has guided local and international technology start-ups through the challenges of fundraising, and Brian Tsui, Co-Founder of the Chicago Booth Angels Network, who shared their personal experience and advise to start-ups on their fundraising strategies and planning.

Enhancing customer experience with NFTs to create business opportunities
With non-fungible tokens (NFTs) becoming the talk of the town, Lucas Cheung, Managing Partner of leading Asian brand technology firm Gusto Collective, and Nick Lau, founder of digital luxury Web3 platform WEAR, shared their insights on the application of NFTs in the entertainment and fashion space. Cheung discussed how his company has enhanced brand value and opened doors to new opportunities through immersive customer experiences. Lau shared how WEAR has integrated physical products with digital collectibles and the company’s successful collaborations with world-renowned brands.

Propelling re-industrialization of Hong Kong – the springboard to the GBA
With a mature ecosystem for start-ups to thrive in, Hong Kong is well-known for its business-friendly environment and for incubating outstanding enterprises. In the panel discussion “Entrepreneurship in HK – Scaling up through Hong Kong”, previous winners of the Start-up Express competition shared their experience of starting a business in the city. The panel discussion involved Justin Chan, CEO & Co-Founder of Gense Technologies, KK Chiu, Co-Founder & CEO of Zeek, and Mazing Lee, Co-Founder & CEO of Lify Company Limited.

The 12th World SME Summit, co-organised by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Businesses, celebrated the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and aimed to facilitate re-industrialisation in Hong Kong. The summit had the theme of “Achieving re-industrialisation through innovation in the new era” with discussions considering ways to expedite Hong Kong’s re-industrialisation efforts. In the session, Herbert Chia, Venture Partner of Sequoia Capital China, pinpointed the benefits of applying innovative technology from an investor’s perspective.

Turning waste into gold for a circular economy
With investors increasingly looking to support the recycling sector, Shrikanth Narasimha, Director of Sustainability and Supply Chain, Far East, Mainetti (HK) Limited, detailed the development of closed-loop recycling of plastic materials and the use of blockchain in the recycling process. Meanwhile, Rachel Barr, Vice President of Sustainability from the Israeli start-up UBQ Materials, shared the firm’s work to transform domestic waste into plastic products in collaboration with Mainetti (HK), while Ricci Wong, Founder and CEO of social enterprise HK Timberbank, explained how his start-up helps sort, cut, and dry damaged trees, recycling them into commercial timber and furniture.

Exhibiting innovations from emerging industries
The Entrepreneur Day exhibition also gathered more than 130 start-ups showcasing innovative products and technology as well as support services for the start-up ecosystem. The exhibition helped participants find business opportunities, secure professional advice and connect with potential business partners. The “Start-up Zone” showcased start-ups from a wide array of industry verticals ranging from medical and biotechnology products, green and food technology, to fintech and edtech. “The Boosters” featured organisations and government bodies supporting start-ups with the latest market insights and consulting services.

Start-up Express International – Fostering connections between local and global start-ups
To mark the 5th anniversary of “Start-up Express”, a start-up incubation programme, the HKTDC will launch “Start-up Express International” tomorrow during Entrepreneur Day 2022 where ten international start-ups from countries including Belgium, Mainland China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States with diverse technology backgrounds like health, education, smart cities, and agriculture, to blockchain, robo-technology, and marketing, will share their experiences together with the local winners of Start-up Express.

The HKTDC selected 30 international start-ups before choosing the final ten. Among those 30 international firms, many of which have won awards in the Mainland and overseas, are InxMed, a biotech company in Mainland China working on developing innovative therapies for tumour resistance and metastasis; inConAlert, a German healthtech company offering a wearable medical sensor; Mobbi, an Italian technology start-up that introduced the world’s first portable power bank rental app; and SynCom Agritech, a Japanese agritech start-up. They all hope to contribute to solving livelihood, social and environmental problems through innovative business ideas and new technology.

The top 10 winners of the competition were: inContAlert from Germany, Contents.com from Italy, Closer Inc. from Japan, VegeSense; KnowCarbon; InxMed from Mainland China, OTECH (Otsuka Technology) from Singapore, AON from South Korea, MOBIQU from Turkey, and rThreat from the United States. The winning start-ups will gain access to marketing and technical support, as well as consulting services and concessionary rents by HKTDC, helping them set up a business presence in Hong Kong.

rThreat, one of the winning start-ups, said: “We would like to thank HKTDC for arranging Start-up Express International as it has allowed us a chance to learn from our peers from around the globe, establish business relationships and explore potential business partners.”

The judging panel for Start-up Express International this year comprised Fred Li, Executive Director at Gobi Partners, Francis Pun, Promotions and Community Development Lead at Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, and Clara Hong, Senior Manager of Ecosystem Development at Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited.

Alongside Entrepreneur Day, the Business Intellectual Property of Asia Forum will be held from tomorrow to 2 December, serving as an ideal platform for global IP experts and business leaders to investigate the latest trends in the Asian IP market and look for opportunities.

Exhibition and Forum Website
– Entrepreneur Day: https://eday.hktdc.com/conference/eday/en
– Start-up Express International: https://portal.hktdc.com/startupexpress/en/s/start-up-express-international
– Photo download: https://bit.ly/3VI4VGh

About HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong’s trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn.

Media enquiries
Please contact Hill+Knowlton Strategies:
Joyce Kwong, Tel: +852 6842 5929, Email: joyce.kwong@hkstrategies.com
Nannerl Yau, Tel: +852 6846 7888, Email: nannerl.yau@hkstrategies.com

HKTDC’s Communications & Public Affairs Department:
Clayton Lauw, Tel: +852 2584 4472, Email: clayton.y.lauw@hktdc.org
Janet Chan, Tel: +852 2584 4369, Email: janet.ch.chan@hktdc.org
Sunny Ng, Tel: +852 2584 4357, Email: sunny.sl.ng@hktdc.org

Dubai UAE’s MxHub Announces launch of MX100 Investor Event

MxHub, Dubai’s newest Innovation Center and Incubator has announced the launch of MX100, a multimedia metaverse event scheduled for December 20, 2022 next to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai UAE. The event is geared to deliver the latest in innovative startups from throughout the region amidst a backdrop of the latest metaverse centric technologies.

“In our effort to bring the latest technological breakthroughs of the Metaverse to the UAE, we are planning this showcase event via a multimedia delivery that we believe is transforming the way events are produced, delivered and engaged with,” stated Edward Musinski, Executive Director of MxHub. “Our growing ecosystem drives both investor awareness and a showcasing medium for best of class opportunities through the sector that encompasses fintech, blockchain, healthtech & web3.”

Invited Investors include: Andreeson Horowitz, Sequoia, TigerGlobal and SALD Investments

The event which is being produced by MxHub is supported by the following MxHub companies.

Blockbytes: https://bloxbytes.com/
MetaVibes: https://metavibes.ai/
Citizen of Metaland: https://www.citizenofmetaland.com/
Ducatus: http://www.ducatus.com/
VisionTech: https://www.visiontechme.com/
Bimar: https://www.bimar.pro/main-en
Arcona: https://www.arcona.space/
Vatom: https://www.vatom.com/
Aimedis: http://www.aimedis.io/
Panvora: http://www.panvora.com/
MetaAlliance: https://www.metaalliance.biz/
Huma: https://huma.com
Mobio: https://mobiointeractive.com
Shaikhtech: https://www.shaikhtech.com/
MatterFi: https://matterfi.com

Event Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbdQkQeT9xg
Event URL: https://mx100.vip/

About MxHub

MxHub is a UAE based Innovation Ecosystem and is part of Phygital Holdings a UAE Digital Holdings Fund. The company hosts multiple global companies by providing corporate infrastructure support to its growing ecosystem of innovative startups. MxHub is a one stop startup incubator for startups located outside of Dubai and provides a full range of support services to companies looking to embed themselves in the local UAE market. For more information, visit https://mxhub.co.

SMEStreet and World University of Leadership & Management Join Hands for Bringing Academia and Industry Closer

In order to elevate the relationship between academia and industry, SMEStreet Foundation and the World University of Leadership & Management, France have collaborated. This collaboration is expected to highlight Indian entrepreneurial and social leaders so that their professional experience can become a benchmark at a global level.

India’s success story is becoming stronger and stronger at the global level. The importance of Indian-origin entrepreneurs and professionals have become visible at almost every level. On such backdrop, MSMEs and Startups from India are also becoming well-acknowledged globally.

“With this collaboration, we aim to provide a credible global platform for India’s entrepreneurial and professional leadership.” We will work closely with the World University of Leadership & Management (WULM) for providing success stories which possess the potential of motivating their peers in their respective professional fields. Whether business leaders, entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs or professionals, India is producing great potential that can make it’s impact at a global level. “We at SMEStreet are excited with this collaboration to provide and facilitate such level of knowledge sharing,” says Dr Faiz Askari, Secretary General, SMEStreet Foundation.

“We are very excited and happy to collaborate with SMEStreet, as this gives us access to the potential network of Indian philanthropists and professionals who can become a success story at a global level,” says Dr. Randi W Ward, Chancellor of World University of Leadership & Management (WULM), France.

Dr. Diwakar Aryal, CEO of, WULM commented, “This collaboration is considered to bring very important synergy for academia and industry. With SMEStreet’s networking and expertise and WULM’s academic expertise, we wish to create an efficient pathway of recognition for professionals. This will create success stories influential and approachable for those who wish to leverage the expertise.”

This collaboration will generate global-level dialogues and forums which will highlight Indian leadership at a global level.

About SMEStreet – https://SMEStreet.in

SMEStreet.in is an efficient and dynamic ecosystem for MSMEs and Startups. The SMEStreet Platform is a window of opportunity for every entrepreneur to enhance the profitability of business, personalized networking with subject matter experts and insightful market research data. Success Stories and high quality business networking is facilitated by SMEStreet to empower pro-business environment at a global level. The portal has over 1 Million unique visitors every month and over 3.5 Million Pageviews are registered here.

About SMEStreet Foundation

SMEStreet Foundation is created to serve the potential rich entrepreneurs, aentrepreneurs,preneurs and Professionals from Indian MSME and startup domain. Registered as a Section 8 company. The SMEStreet Foundation is aimed to bring value of knowledge and become a proactive platform of enhancing business productivity and peer to peer learning.

About WULM (wulm.org)

World University of Leadership and Management is headquartered in France and working with the visions and missions of the openness philosophy, believing that open universities are rooted in the idea that education is a basic human right, that teaching and learning need to be democratized, that equity in education needs to be facilitated and social justice.

Gradiant, Global Water Solutions Provider, Awarded $20M in New Contracts in India

Gradiant, a global solutions provider for advanced water and wastewater treatment, is pleased to announce awards of $20 million in new contracts in September and October 2022. The awards are for clients in the manufacturing of photovoltaic cells (or solar cells) renewable energy and industrial protective equipment. All three projects will be delivered as design-build contracts.

One of the largest solar companies in India has partnered with Gradiant at a manufacturing site in the Western Region for ammonia and fluoride removal and wastewater treatment. The new facility will recover, neutralize, and treat complex wastewater rinse streams from photovoltaic cell production to levels that meet the client’s sustainability goals and local discharge limits.

Gradiant has also partnered with a leader in the renewable energy business for the design-build of two facilities for ultrapure water and wastewater treatment to support a new photovoltaic cell manufacturing site also in Western Region. The project will include Gradiant’s patented RO InfinityTM membrane technology to treat industrial wastewater streams. The zero liquid discharge (ZLD) facility will reduce wastewater to only salt and solid wastes.

“We are experiencing strong growth in the India market across multiple strategic verticals,” said Prakash Govindan, COO of Gradiant. “India was already one of the fastest growing economies in the world and is well positioned to gain as global companies review their sourcing and manufacturing footprints to de-risk and diversify their supply chains. We are also witnessing a clean energy transition in India, as the country builds out renewable energy infrastructure and its supply to the world. This local market has always been important to India, and Gradiant is ready to support our clients with advanced water solutions as they shift or double-down their local manufacturing operations.”

In addition to these renewable energy projects, Gradiant is working with a leading manufacturer of industrial protective equipment for their new facility in Southern India. Gradiant will deliver an effluent treatment and ZLD waste minimization system. The plant will feature Gradiant’s Carrier Gas ExtractionTM (CGE) for ZLD and SmartOpsTM for AI-powered asset performance optimization, and a membrane biological reactor (MBR) for advanced wastewater treatment.

Gradiant entered the India market in 2018 to engage with major international and domestic companies to solve their advanced water and wastewater challenges in water recycling, minimum and zero liquid discharge, and ultrapure water. Clients are served by in-country expertise from Gradiant’s main office in Chennai while collaborating and leveraging global process and engineering resources. The India team is comprised of 80 expert engineers and staff today, with plans to increase headcounts across the country.

About Gradiant

Gradiant is a global solutions provider for advanced water and wastewater treatment. With a full suite of differentiated and proprietary end-to-end solutions, powered by the top minds in water, Gradiant serves its clients’ mission-critical operations in the world’s essential industries. Gradiant was founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is uniquely positioned to address the world’s increasing challenges created by industrialization, population growth, and water stress. Today, with over 450 employees, Gradiant operates from its global headquarters in Boston, regional headquarters and global technology labs in Singapore, and offices across twelve countries. For more information, please visit www.gradiant.com.

Corporate Contact:
Felix Wang
Gradiant, VP of Marketing
fwang@gradiant.com

Digital Nigeria 2022: NITDA Director General tasks Tech Innovators with Problem Solving

  • Kashifu Inuwa challenges entrpreneurs to identify then solve problems, during Day 3 of the Digital Nigeria 2022 International Conference

The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE has challenged Nigerian tech innovators and entrepreneurs to identify problems bedeviling the nation with the view to proffering solutions because the government has provided a level playing field for them to achieve just that.

NITDA Director General and conference host Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, challenged Nigerian tech innovators and entrepreneurs to identify the problems bedeviling the nation, …with a view to proffering solutions. [Image: NITDA]
Day Three of the Digital Nigeria 2022 International Conference, tagged “Start-Up and Innovation Ecosystem Day”, four enlightening Panel Discussions before “The Future is Tech”. [Image: NITDA]
Minister of Comms & Digital Economy, Professor Isa Pantami, inaugurated the Digital Economy Industry Working Group (DEIWG) to accelerate the digital economy agenda in the country. [Image: NITDA]
Tech-drivers, the Digital Nigeria Family at the conclusion of the three-day Digital Nigeria 2022 International Conference & Exhibitions in a group photograph for the ages. [Image: NITDA]

Inuwa stated his challenge during Day 3 of the Digital Nigeria 2022 International Conference, held in Abuja. Inuwa noted that for Nigeria to succeed, the tech ecosystem needs every stakeholder on board to play their roles as required of them. “To build a very strong tech ecosystem, we need the government, the higher institutions, we need the entrepreneurs, the risk capitalists and corporate organisations, everybody has its own role to play.”

He stated that the government is playing its role by creating a level playing ground by formulating policies, legal framework, regulations and intervening in providing infrastructure to the underserved and unserved communities, reiterating that the government is doing more than enough in these regards.

“The government needs you, needs your commitment the same way the government is committed. For the higher institutions, we need you to produce high quality education to the people because innovation, digital economy or knowledge-based economy are all human capital economy.”

“Your greatest resources are not the mineral resources but it is what you have in your brain; we need higher institutions to produce the right skill, talents and people with entrepreneurial skills,” Inuwa noted. He claimed that the government is doing more than enough in terms of building human capital and “this is beyond conventional educational systems.”

The government has several initiatives to achieve the 90% digital literacy, which would go a long way in building the tech ecosystem. He said, “We need the numbers. We need people to have skills to use in the digital based technological environment, and that is why we are training people on high earned skills to build the digital service, because digital service is a product-based economy.”

He listed part of government initiatives to include the partnership between the Nigerian government and Microsoft to train 5 million Nigerians, the partnership with COUSERA to train 24,000, and several others which aimed at positioning Nigeria to be the global talent factory.

“One of the digital prints we need in the ecosystem is the legal framework. Just last week the President signed the Nigeria Start up bill into law so all these are to level the playing field for you.”

“For the entrepreneurs, now you have the playing field; it is left for you to take your ideas from invention to impact and in Nigeria and even Africa in general, we have a lot of problems awaiting solutions. And technology can serve as inspiration for you to solve these problems so all you need is to explore how you can solve the problems and impact lives,” he said.

While decrying the imbalance in the distribution of global wealth and prosperity, Inuwa maintained that with the thriving tech ecosystem, the imbalance would be corrected. He added that successful countries have three things in common, namely innovation, entrepreneurship and a good ecosystem, as nobody succeeds in isolation.

“Even in Nigeria,” said he, ‘if you look at the ecosystem, Lagos alone is contributing almost one quarter of the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and when you talk about the tech ecosystem, Lagos attracts more than 50%; so why?”

He however sued for replication of the feat in all other parts of the country. “We can build this kind of ecosystem across the country because every part of the country has its strength and weakness. If we can leverage on the strength, we can build the same ecosystem to engender prosperity, because innovation is the only thing that can lead any nation to prosperity.”

Day 3 of the Digital Nigeria 2022 International Conference, which was tagged “Start-Up and Innovation Ecosystem Day”, witnessed various enthralling discussions with the lead speech on “Innovative Ecosystem and Investors’ Perspectives” presented by Satesh Elwani, Managing Director, Melsons Group.

The panel sessions focused on: “Building a Thriving and Sustainable Start-up and Innovation Ecosystem for Nigeria’s Digital Economy;” “A Tent Approach to Addressing the Talent Gap Issues;” “Exploring the Funding Opportunities for Nigerian Start-ups” and “Unlocking Nigeria’s Innovation Potential for Economic Growth and Prosperity.”

About Digital Nigeria
The Digital Nigeria International Conference & Exhibition is the flagship annual awareness program of the Digital Economy. Formerly eNigeria Conference & Exhibitions, the event was re-branded to expand in line with the National Digital Economy Policy & Strategy (NDEPS). It aims to brainstorm on contemporary issues of relevance from across the globe in order to address the Nigerian challenges for sustainable socioeconomic development. It is a platform for creating Information and Communications Technology (ICT) awareness, for associated framework development, and for charting best practices. Learn more at www.digitalnigeria.gov.ng.

FG Stops Importation of Digital Technology Products, Services, as Nigeria Intends to be Global Talent Supplier: Day#1, Digital Nigeria 2022

  • Minister of Comms & Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) declaration at Digital Nigeria 2022

As stakeholders in the Digital Economy sector from both within and outside Nigeria gathered in Abuja to brainstorm on the path to a sustainable digital economy in the country, the Federal Government (FG) declared that it would no longer accept importation of any digital technological product or service into the country “until and unless the country is convinced that capacity to develop such product and service is not readily available in the country.”

Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), Minister of Communications & Digital Economy, during his address to the Digital Nigeria 2022 International Conference.
Kashifu Inuwa, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), during the opening address at Digital Nigeria 2022.
The Digital Nigeria 2022 International Conference, Exhibition and Awards, which runs from October 25 – 27, 2022 in Abuja, Nigeria. [Image: FITMA]
Deemah Yahya Alyahya, Secretary General, Digital Cooperation Organisation (DCO), delivering her Keynote Address at the Digital Nigeria 2022.
Ousman A. Bah, Minister of Communications & Digital Economy of The Gambia, delivering a Keynote Address at Digital Nigeria 2022 International Conference.

Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), the Minister of Communications & Digital Economy, made the declaration during a special address at the Digital Nigeria 2022 Conference, Exhibition and Awards in Abuja (Oct 25~27). Formerly known as the eNigeria Conference, the annual event was re-branded as Digital Nigeria to expand its scope in line with the core objectives of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS).

Minister Pantami holds that wisdom behind the stoppage of importation of digital technological products and services gives effect to Executive Orders 003 of May 2017, and 005 of February 2018, which support “Local content procurement by ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria”, and the “Planning and execution of projects, and promotion of Nigerian content in contracts and science, engineering and technology”, respectively.

He stated further that “even in the employment position that is publicized, as long as there are Nigerians that have the capacities to take up the challenges, it is not allowed for you to bring somebody from outside the country, except in an agreement transferring knowledge, and 40% of our products and services must be retained for Nigerians.”

The minister disclosed that his sector has been performing with increasing creditably in the last three years, making it the fastest growing sector and the highest contributor to Gross Domestic Product in the country. “The Digital Economy has in recent years recorded three unprecedented records. For example, contributing18.44% of GDP in the last quarter according to the National Bureau of Statistic.”

Listing record achievements for the sector, Prof. Pantami further expressed that his Ministry had scored high grades in each of the eight ministerial deliverables he signed with President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019. He noted that his Ministry scored a very strong 173.86% average across the eight.

The scores in each deliverable were recorded as: implementation of broadband connectivity -134%; deployment of 4G across the country – 127%; digitalising government functions and processes – 99%; development and implementation of a National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy – 103%; implementation of a Digital Identity Programme – 86%; improvement and optimisation of revenues from all operators and licensees in agencies under the Ministry’s supervision – 594%; active collaboration with private sector to create jobs – 111%; empowerment of citizens – 137%.

According to the Minister, the sector used to contribute an average of N51 billion (approx. US$118 million) quarterly to the government’s coffer, but in the last three years, quarterly remittance has grown to N408 billion (approx. US$ 935 million). “And you cannot appreciate this until you know how difficult it is to generate funds for government. We remit all that we generate to the government, while others spend without generating,” he noted.

He expressed the vigor in implementation of the various pillars of NDEPS, facilitating the unprecedented achievements the sector is recording since the policy was approved in October 2019. He listed the eight pillars to include: Developmental Regulation; Digital Literacy and Skills; Solid Infrastructure; Service Infrastructure; Soft Infrastructure; Digital Service Development and Promotion; Digital Society and Emerging Technologies; and Indigenous Content Promotion and Adoption.

The Minister revealed that the under the Service Infrastructure pillar, IT project clearance alone has saved the Federal Government over N44 billion in the last year, with the clearing of 1,600 projects which have to do with the automation of government processes in order to save funds, improve precision and accuracy, and promote accountability.

He said, “In order to simplify the implementation of each of the pillar, we developed other implementation policies under each pillar; under some pillars we have developed three to four policies. Within the last three years, we have developed 19 national policies and at least 17 of them are being implemented today – and this is unprecedented.”

While noting the Ministry’s achievements in capacity building, Prof. Pantami disclosed that 863,232 Nigerians have been trained on cutting edge and highly demanded digital skills, adding that the training identified a global vacuum in the digital sector, and focused on the provision of skills to citizens such that they could fill the vacuum. In addition, according to the Minister, over 2,000 IT centres have been established across the country.

He said the many regulatory instruments developed by his Ministry and its parastatals led to the initiation and ultimate passage of the Nigeria Start-Up Bill by the National Assembly, signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari last week to become the Nigeria Start-up Act.

While commending President Buhari and National Assembly for the speedy passage and assent, the Minister described the legislation as “organic, because inputs were sought from the Start-Up ecosystem, and all its challenges are accommodated.” He said passage of the Bill has attracted global commendation, noting the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which indicated it would be learning from Nigeria’s experience.

Kashifu Inuwa, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), giving the opening speech at Digital Nigeria 2022, expressed optimism that with the several initiatives the ministry and all its parastatals are putting in place, Nigeria can become the global talent supplier in the tech ecosystem in no distant time.

He said Nigeria is doing a lot in trying to position itself in the area of talent development because technology has two components; the technology, and the people side, or IT talent, which is abundant in Nigeria. According the Director General, if Nigeria could harness her talents in the tech ecosystem, it would need nothing else “because our talent alone is estimated at 8.5 trillion USD market value, and Nigeria has the capacity to fill the global talent gap.”

He assured that, “We have done it in the sport industry. We have done it in the music industry, and we are going to do it in the tech industry,” adding that the country would also explore how to use Emerging Technologies to create and capture value from the tech ecosystem.

While recalling that the Minister recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft Corporation to train 5 million Nigerians, the NITDA boss disclosed that there were “several other initiatives, like the training of 1 million developers in the next 18 months, geared towards positioning Nigeria to bridge the global talent gap.”

He described digital transformation and sustainability as increasingly important and intertwined phenomena that are full of promises and pitfalls. “To achieve sustainability, you need strategy to realise the promises while avoiding the pitfalls,” he observed.

Inuwa noted that the Minister of Communications & Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) has designed an approach to succeed in the digital economy sector. The Minister uses a three part gain : unleash the creative offence to position Nigeria as a leader in the digital economy, initiatives to strengthen the midfield in terms of processes, policies and legal framework, and initiatives to tide up the defense which is to explore technology to enhance processes and services which include the e-government master plan, and initiatives around infrastructure to connect the unconnected.

On the recently passage of the Nigeria Start Up bill, now an Act after the President’s assent, the Director General averred that the Act would provide legal instrument for Nigeria to become a start-up nation. “With the president assenting to the bill, it will help us position ourselves to disrupt and not to be disrupted because it is through start-ups you can come up with disruptive ideas with innovations to create Innovation driven enterprises, and we are implementing several initiatives to achieve that.

“We have an MIT REAP programme, we are working with JAICA, and we have several other initiatives aimed to strengthen the ecosystem, that is why Nigeria’s ecosystem is the most vibrant ecosystem in all of Africa. Out of seven unicorn companies in Africa, five originated from Nigeria and we have three more to join soon,” he added. Inuwa however solicited the cooperation of others because digital transformation cannot be achieved in silos.

“We believe digital transformation needs collaboration. We need everybody on board. Government has its own roles; to create policies, to intervene in terms of regulations and legal framework and you all have your own roles to play. Academia produces the human capital; we need the innovators to come up with innovative ideas, we need the venture capitalists to invest, and we need you, our guests from abroad, to learn from your experience.

“At the end of this, we are looking forward to ideas that will promote what government is doing so that Nigeria can have a sustainable digital economy,” the NITDA boss concluded.

Gambia’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, His Excellence, Mr. Ousman A. Bah, a keynote speaker at the conference, enjoined African countries to embrace digital transformation stating that “digital transformation required the need for visionary leaders that have purpose and purpose that has destiny and destiny has address.”

He noted that adoption of blockchain technologies would speed up the continent’s drive for digital transformation which will promote other emerging technologies such as data protection, cyber security, digital inclusion and entrepreneurship.

While acknowledging that Blockchain has many benefits such as financial inclusion and nurturing of small scale businesses, he stated that the technology comes with its challenges, and there are significant challenges to overcome before the benefits of Blockchain could be realised. According to Mr. Bah consumer protection and system network risk can slow down the pace being recorded.

He noted that Central banks in African countries need to be proactive to explore the technological advancement that Blockchain offers to promote digital inclusion advising that many countries need to embrace financial inclusion. “Countries in Africa are at the different stages of progress when it comes to allowing financial privacy from other sectors like telecom sector other than the banks.”

In her keynote address, the Secretary General of the Digital Cooperation Organisation (DCO) Deemah A. Alyahya sued for bridging the gender digital divide that exists, maintaining that access to information should be all inclusive. “We need to promote digital inclusion and ensure that we bridge the digital gender divide that is prevailing because women occupy very important roles in our journey toward digital transformation.”

In his goodwill remark, the Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Muhammed commended the ministry and parastatals under the leadership of Prof. Pantami for deepening the digital inclusion in the country through many of their initiatives. He stated that the sector remains the fastest growing sector which has been helping the nation in its drive for economic diversification.

Other dignitaries at the conference were the Chairman, Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Crime, Senator Yakubu Oseni, representatives of ministers of Special Duties, the Minister of State for Health, Service Chiefs, captains of industry, IT enthusiasts, tech start-ups and innovators.

A highlight of the event was the unveiling of a book titled “Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami: Advancing Nigeria’s Drive Toward a Digital Economy”, published in honour of the Minister.

By Lukman Oladokun in Abuja.
Digital Nigeria 2022 International Conference, Oct 25-27.

Digital Nigeria 2022, Day#2: Blockchain Adoption Can Increase Nigeria’s GNP, If…

Developing nations like Nigeria stand a chance to benefit from the US$ 1.76 trillion market, if they can position themselves to adopt and leverage Blockchain technologies. Kashifu Inuwa, Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), made this case today, Day 2 of the Digital Nigeria 2022 International Conferences, Exhibitions and Awards.

The NITDA boss said “Developing countries like Nigeria, if we position ourselves, we can increase our GDP by at least 0.5 percent, which is almost US$ 25 billion. So today we are here to explore how we can position ourselves. The government has been doing it. It is in site. We have developed blockchain adoption strategies.”

He revealed the NITDA Blockchain adoption strategy has four initiatives. “Firstly, to establish a consortia that will build the ecosystem. And today we are here to build that ecosystem and community! Secondly, to strengthen the regulatory instruments and have legal framework. and last week, the president signed the Nigerian startup Bill into law, now the Nigeria Startup Act 2022, which is going to provide legal instruments for all emerging technologies, including blockchain.”

Inuwa noted “Thirdly, initiatives to incentivize the ecosystem which would encourage the building of use cases using blockchain, adding that the Start Up Act would to achieve that as well. And, fourthly is to build sandbox. We are going to work with you to develop sandbox for proof of concept and proof of value around blockchains. So, all that this government is doing, aims to make Nigeria attractive to blockchain investment.”

He listed the benefits of Blockchain to include “Tracking and tracing. We can use it to solve our supply chain challenges. We can use it to track records like land titles. We can use it to track certificate, vaccine, and so many things, anything you can think of that needs that trust. Technology can also address payment system challenges and financial inclusion, adding that it can also be used to strengthen our identity management.

“Not only personal identity, but even things’ identities. We’re talking about the Internet of Things. That means everything connected to internet needs to be identified. With Blockchain, you can achieve that when you use blockchain and IoT. You can even use it to manage government spending. In the budgeting process, you can use it to attach every single Naira to what it is budgeted for. You can trace it, and make sure there is traceability for every Naira spent by the government.”

Blockchain Summit @ Digital Nigeria 2022: And then some..

The session witnessed panel discussions on Prioritizing Blockchain Technology, Implications for Digital Asset Innovation, Impacts of Blockchain on the Digital Economy: the Myth, the Truth and the Opportunities, and, One World Connected with Blockchain. The highlights of the summit were the inauguration of the Blockchain Campus Ambassadors and evolution of Blockchain Technology in Nigeria, in story-book form.

“Blockchain is here to stay, and we are rapidly moving away from traditional process to the Digital Transformation process,” concluded Ibrahim Jega, Co-Founder of Domineum Blockchain Solutions, who together with the NITDA had hosted nearly 2000 guests at this year’s Blockchain Summit @ Digital Nigeria 2022.

HKTDC and Microsoft join forces to launch the “Go Beyond Your Limits” initiative targeted at local SMEs and next-gen talent

The combination of best-in-class technology, practical learning and comprehensive support programs will expedite SME’s digital transformation and workforce competitiveness

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and Microsoft Hong Kong today announced a new partnership to jointly launch the “Go Beyond Your Limits” Programme to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and foster next-generation talent in Hong Kong by leveraging best-in-class technology, practical learning and various support measures. The programme aims to achieve two key goals. First, it will help Hong Kong’s SMEs take tangible steps to pursue their digital transformation and seize new market opportunities under the new normal. Second, it will provide a series of learning opportunities for tertiary students in Hong Kong, helping to enhance their business-related digital skills and knowledge.

Yvonne So, Director, HKTDC Corporate Communications & Marketing; Dr Patrick Lau, HKTDC Deputy Executive Director; Cally Chan, General Manager of Microsoft Hong Kong and Macau; Fred Sheu, National Technology Officer, Microsoft Hong Kong [L-R]

Dr Patrick Lau, HKTDC Deputy Executive Director, said: “Our Transformation Sandbox (T-box) has helped more than 2,400 Hong Kong enterprises over the past two-plus years to realise different business transformation goals. Some of the most commonly seen goals relate to digitalization, which is undoubtedly a powerful tool for companies to reshape their business, enhance their competitiveness and drive innovation. The HKTDC is delighted to partner with leading global technology company Microsoft Hong Kong to jointly launch the ‘Go Beyond Your Limits’ Programme. By integrating teaching, consulting and practical knowledge sharing, we aim to help SMEs in T-box to make good use of digital tools, and to equip tertiary students joining the HKTDC Trade Ambassador Programme (TAP) to become the digital economy talents of tomorrow’s Hong Kong.”

Cally Chan, General Manager of Microsoft Hong Kong and Macau, said: “Microsoft Hong Kong is committed to empowering local SMEs to accelerate digital transformation and uplift businesses across Hong Kong. Through a holistic approach that encompasses Microsoft’s technologies such as Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 (ERP), one-to-one diagnosis and advising on funding applications for SMEs, we hope to empower them to do more with less and assist them to identify new market opportunities. For decades, we have focused on upskilling next-gen talent, digital empowerment and making the best technology available to enable SMEs to thrive and scale their business. We’re excited to be a part of the HKTDC’s ‘Go Beyond Your Limits’ Programme in conjunction with T-box and TAP and we look forward to creating synergies that can inspire more local businesses and support talent development across different sectors in Hong Kong.”

Dr Lau added: “The HKTDC’s work is always in line with the policy direction of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Policies to facilitate the development of the local technology industry and enlarge the I&T talent pool in Hong Kong were highlighted in the Policy Address 2022 released by the Chief Executive last week. Accordingly, the HKTDC will put further emphasis on helping Hong Kong enterprises and young people to thrive in the digital economy. We already do this through our conferences and exhibitions, business support and promotional activities infused with various technology elements, and this new partnership with Microsoft Hong Kong is a timely way to further reinforce our commitment.”

“Go Beyond Your Limits” Programme aims to achieve two key goals:
1. Promoting SME digitalisation to increase operational efficiency
Riding on the HKTDC Transformation Sandbox (T-box) programme, and with invaluable support from Microsoft, the “Go Beyond Your Limits” Programme will offer support to more than 2,400 participating enterprises with the Mobile Office Portfolio, free one-to-one enterprise diagnosis and professional training courses to enhance their competitiveness. The programme will provide targeted solutions and follow-up support according to each enterprise’s specific stage of development and business needs. The programme will also help SMEs identify and apply for suitable funding schemes to expedite their business development goals. Highlights of the “Go Beyond Your Limits” Programme include:

i. Mobile Office Portfolio plus special offers for T-box members
The Mobile Office Portfolio offers Microsoft 365 and Cloud PC solutions with a high-speed 5G network that allows businesses to unlock seamless hybrid work capabilities. T-box members can enjoy two months’ rebate with a one-year subscription to Microsoft 365 for Business.

ii. Free one-to-one enterprise diagnosis and workshops
Microsoft will provide participating T-box members with free one-to-one enterprise management diagnosis that can help them formulate a suitable digital transformation strategy. There are also free workshops on Dynamics 365 ERP to help SMEs strengthen and streamline their operations flow and management.

iii. Assistance with funding applications
Microsoft will assist SMEs to identify and apply for suitable funding schemes and financial assistance so that they can accelerate implementation and expedite their business transformation goals.

During the pandemic, remote working, automated business and production procedures and e-commerce became the new normal across enterprises of all sizes. As businesses continue their transformation journey, companies across all sectors of the Hong Kong economy will continue to look for new market opportunities with innovation and technologies. And as market and consumer demands continue to shift, enterprises will need to make the best use of new technologies to ensure effective allocation of resources and business processes, maximise operational efficiency and realise cost savings. This will help them capitalise on this new wave of innovation and adopt technologies to meet customer needs and expand into new markets.

2. Committed to nurturing young talents
The HKTDC Trade Ambassador Programme (TAP) was launched to help the younger generation equip themselves for future entrepreneurship, career development, as well as broaden their business horizons. In collaboration with tertiary institutions in Hong Kong, the full-year programme will consist of opportunities to participate in the numerous activities and initiatives organised by the HKTDC so that they can gain a more in-depth understanding and perspective of trade and commerce both within Hong Kong and internationally.

Another important role for Microsoft Hong Kong is to provide next-gen talent with cross-disciplinary learning and practical opportunities to develop a pool of IT specialists that can support the future development of Hong Kong. Microsoft will equip 1,200 TAP students with future-ready IT skills through expert talks, Microsoft Learn online courses, instructor-led tutorials and free examinations on Microsoft Fundamentals, a series of industry-recognised certifications for IT generalists to gain knowledge on digital transformation and to validate their skills relating to the cloud, data, artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity standards and compliance. Students will also be entitled to free US$100 Azure Credits via the Azure for Students programme to enjoy free services on the Azure Portal and to have a hands-on trial of Azure cloud solutions, including but not limited to building their own apps, exploring AI, and working with big data sets.

“Go Beyond Your Limits” Programme website: https://home.hktdc.com/en/s/microsoft
Photo download: https://bit.ly/3SLhA9b

About T-box
In order to assist SMEs to explore opportunities and realised their business transformation, the HKTDC Transformation Sandbox (“T-box”) support programme aims to help SMEs enhance their business competitiveness and achieve upgrading and transformation goals in the areas of branding, e-commerce, manufacturing and supply chain as well as access to new markets. Dedicated T-box staff work with enterprises to identify their goals and provide support over a three-month period, with group and individualised advisory services covering workshops, government-funding information, market knowledge and networking opportunities. The programme has been well received since its launch, with more than 2,400 Hong Kong companies participating and over 600 free consultations provided by professional organisations, chambers of commerce representatives, business partners and HKTDC overseas offices. Website: https://smesupport.hktdc.com/en/s/tbox

About HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong’s trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn.

Media enquiries
Please contact the HKTDC’s Communications & Public Affairs Department:
Kate Chan, Tel: +852 2584 4239, Email: kate.hy.chan@hktdc.org

Microsoft Hong Kong Communications Department:
Bobo Wong, Tel: +852 5614 9998, Email: bobo.wong@microsoft.com