Hong Kong Techathon 2023 helps tech start-ups kickstart entrepreneurial venture

The annual start-up competition culminated on a high note as the judging panel cast a critical eye on the contesting teams’ final presentation.

There is no shortage of bright-minded youth at Hong Kong Techathon 2023. Jointly organised by Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) and the nine universities in Hong Kong, the annual contest’s final day, held at Science Park last Saturday, saw 60 shortlisted teams taking to the stage to present their business solution proposals that tapped into one of the four categories: ArtTech and EdTech, Fintech and Web 3.0, Healthcare and GeronTech, and Smart Cities and Sustainability.

“We are delighted to have a record-high number of over 900 students and alumni joining us this year,” said Raymond Chu, Associate Director, University Collaborator, HKSTP, who served on the judging panel.

From pitching an idea and forming a team, to business prototyping and presentation, contestants had the chance to build out their projects from scratch, with mentoring support and the opportunities to interact and exchange ideas with other aspiring entrepreneurs. “If there’s one thing that the standout teams share, it’s that they are market-oriented, and they can pinpoint exactly the pressing real-world problems,” said Chu.

As well as undergraduate students, this year’s event drew a range of companies competing for the grand prize that includes incubation and funding support. The team members of Fleming MedLab, who garnered Champion of the Healthcare & GeronTech category, set up a synonymous start-up company to help stroke survivors walk again and recover their brain functions with robots. “Arriving at where we are now is no easy task. We have really learnt from our mistakes and humbly take in feedback from our investors to evolve our products,” said Heung Ho Lam.

Similarly, BoostRider, named Champion in the Smart Cities and Sustainability area, is a start-up that developed a tool with a good cause. Kevin Yau Pang Yeung explained: “Powered by machine and app, our AI wheelchair helps physically impaired people to move around without having to strain their arms – these machines are like good friends lending them a hand just when they need it.”

But great ideas without great execution and, most importantly, viability, very rarely triumph. This is why action-based learning is key to the Techathon programme to give participants the solid foundation they need to flourish. For the first time ever, the top three winning teams from each of the four categories can move on up to HKSTP Ideation Programme, on top of a cash prize and access to seed funding of more than HK$1 million.

417 Tech, which took home Champion in the ArtTech and EdTech sector, has previously enrolled in HKSTP’s Ideation Programme. “The incubation programme and Techathon gave us the runway to test and modify our business model, and it has been nothing but rewarding,” said team member Ma Po Hin.

For Macor Law Kei Fung, from the winning team of the FinTech and Web 3.0 area RegEasy AI, the process itself came before all the prizes: “We really pushed ourselves beyond our comfort zone and gave everything a try before shutting ourselves down, which we believe is the key to success.”