Yuan Valley: Hong Kong tech start-ups break into mainland Chinese market with help from HKU Business School’s Shenzhen campus
- Yuan Valley centre at new campus provides entrepreneurs financing, marketing and networking support
- Start-ups say the ‘HKU brand’ makes a difference, and they hope to gain a foothold in Greater Bay Area
Hong Kong entrepreneur Terry Lam Wa-kit recalls that he had no clue how to reach out to mainland Chinese companies to tell them about a new green product from his company.
The 39-year-old director and co-founder of Envicome, a Singapore-based start-up, said he received the cold shoulder when he tried to approach prospective clients last year in the hope of breaking into the massive mainland market.
His company’s environmentally friendly product, Envi-Gel, was an insulation coating material made from recycled plastic bottles.
Describing what he learned from failing to connect with mainland businesses, he said: “No matter how good your product is, if nobody knows you, they don’t trust you.”
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Things changed dramatically after his firm joined Yuan Valley, a networking base for entrepreneurs set up at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) Business School-Shenzhen Campus which opened last November.
The centre, which has room for 16 enterprises, aims to provide a full range of incubation services for hi-tech start-ups and help them commercialise their research and development (R&D) results with financing, marketing and networking support.
Lam’s company is one of 10 firms that have moved in so far.
“Since we joined the Valley, we have been taken care of and put in touch with mainland firms. Now their attitude has changed significantly and they have become willing to talk business, knowing we are from HKU,” Lam said.
“They trust HKU and its reputation, and we can capitalise on that to develop our business.”
The new campus is a partnership with the Futian government in Shenzhen and provides a place for HKU staff and alumni to carry out education, research and entrepreneurial activities under the model of “one university, two campuses”.
Under the partnership, both sides will work towards growing the campus into a first-class comprehensive research university with a global vision, rooted in Shenzhen.
Orange Ju Ziqian, director of the HKU Business School’s Shenzhen centre, said the Valley was an important incubation site for the mainland city, and HKU would help to seek funding support from authorities there for the start-ups.
“We will line up cooperation between our start-ups and Hong Kong corporations, such as the Science Park and Cyberport, and help them explore international markets,” she said.
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Two start-ups at the Valley said they hoped to grow their business by tapping HKU’s connections.
Tyler Lu Jiheng, CEO of Carrymen Dynamics (Shenzhen) Company Ltd, which produces a conveying system to transport small components such as smartphone parts and semiconductors, said the Valley helped him engage investors, generate new R&D ideas and market his products.
Huang Guobiao, CEO of Hong Kong Kairuipu Medical Technology, hoped his start-up would get more customers for its smart sleep monitor.
Costing HK$5,000 (US$640) per set, it can help prevent sudden heart failure by continuously monitoring patients’ vital signs, such as their heart and breathing rates. It is being used by Hong Kong’s Correctional Services Department and some hospitals in the city.
“By being in the Valley, our clinical reports will be sent by HKU to different medical institutions in Hong Kong and overseas and help tap the market in the Middle East and Europe,” Huang said.
