“Start-up Express” - A Journey to Success for Hong Kong Start-ups

Start-up Express is Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC)'s highly curated start-up development programme that targets start-ups offering innovative and tech products or solutions, as well as with strong desire to enter the international market. Through a series of capability building, mentoring sessions, marketing activities, extensive publicity, and pitching opportunities, the programme aims to assist local start-ups in building connection, exploring markets, seeking business and funding partners, and enhancing brand awareness.  Target Participants  Start-ups incorporated on or after 1st January 2019; Start-ups raising less than USD10 million in funding; Start-ups with a valid business registration in Hong Kong; Start-ups with a focus on technologies related to Art tech, Fintech, Health tech, Prop tech, Smart city, Sustainability.   Registration is open till 6 May 2024. For further details on the programme and registration method, please visit the official website. Click here to view the details of the past winners.

AIESEC Startup Challenge: Road to Championship

Team Uplift, Champion of the Outlier CSV Challenge 2021 Team Uplift, the Champion of the Outlier CSV Challenge 2021, wished to improve the well-being of students. The team suggested to provide a mental health related training programme for school staff, and to develop a emotion-tracking app “MotiMe” for students to record their mental health journey. The journey begins from the experience of a team member... One of the members of team Uplift had suffered from emotional disorder. Motivated by their peer’s experience, team Uplift developed their solution to help other students in need. Janice Chin and Sarah Lai, who were interviewed by Youth.gov.hk, said that their passion towards the competition and support from other team members had brought team Uplift success! Watch the interview video below for more about team Uplift’s experience and tips for competitions! Early this year, AIESEC, an international student organisation, has held the Outlier CSV Challenge 2021 with support from the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (SIE Fund). Students from different tertiary institutions worked in teams to hack profitable yet socially impactful business models to tackle social issues in Hong Kong. We have interviewed with the three winning teams of the Outlier CSV Challenge to understand how they won the cash prizes and internship opportunities with creativity!

AIESEC Startup Challenge: Pitching Tips

Team Tech-kle, 1st runner up of the Outlier CSV Challenge 2021 Online learning has become a new normal amid the COVID-19, yet the visually impaired (VI) community has been overlooked. Tech-kle, the 1st runner up team of the Outlier CSV Challenge 2021, assisted VI students in online learning by revamping the existing screen reader designs with three additional features: real-time controls, review logs, and smart filtering. Invite the judges to close their eyes before starting the pitch... Yannes Kwok and Anson Chan, team members of Tech-kle, shared some tips for pitching in the video. For example, at the beginning of their presentation, they invited the judges to close their eyes to immerse themselves in the problems faced by the VI students. Watch the interview video below for more tips on pitching from Tech-kle! Early this year, AIESEC, an international student organisation, has held the Outlier CSV Challenge 2021 with the support from the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (SIE Fund). Students from different tertiary institutions worked in teams to hack profitable yet socially impactful business models to tackle social issues in Hong Kong. We have interviewed with the three winning teams of the Outlier CSV Challenge to understand how they won the cash prizes and internship opportunities with creativity!

AIESEC Startup Challenge: Challenges in Pitching

Team Soscientist, 2nd runner up of the Outlier CSV Challenge 2021 Mahika Khanna, a member of Soscientist and a non-Chinese speaking student, often encounters difficulties in job seeking. Team Soscientist proposed a “No Labels: Job Search Platform” to provide job matching service for people of diverse race with small-to-medium enterprises (SME). The solution has obtained the 2nd runner up in Outlier CSV Challenge 2021. Think out of the box to pitch your idea! Isaac Ng, another team member of Soscientist, said there were various challenges in the course of the competition. For example, the team had to pitch the project to SMEs for partnership; to search for funding; as well as to convince the judges on the feasibility of the project. Watch the interview video below for more about team Soscientist’s strategies in pitching and their tips for competitions! Early this year, AIESEC, an international student organisation, has held the Outlier CSV Challenge 2021 with support from the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (SIE Fund). Students from different tertiary institutions worked in teams to hack profitable yet socially impactful business models to tackle social issues in Hong Kong. We have interviewed with the three winning teams of the Outlier CSV Challenge to understand how they won the cash prizes and internship opportunities with creativity!

AIESEC Startup Challenge: What is “Creating Shared Value”?

Creating Shared Value (CSV) is a strategy for addressing society’s challenges through profitable business models. With the popularity of the idea of “CSV”, various organisations and schools have participated in promotional works. Early this year, AIESEC, an international student organisation, has held the Outlier CSV Challenge 2021. Students from different tertiary institutions worked in teams to hack profitable yet socially impactful business models to tackle social issues in Hong Kong. Let's watch the video below for the highlights of the Challenge: You may also learn more about the idea of CSV through a few frequently asked questions below: Q: How can a “CSV” approach generates economic and social values simultaneously?A: "Shared Value” is created for both the company and the society when a company applies its assets and skills to innovative projects that bring business return while simultaneously advancing the economic, environmental and social conditions in the communities in which it operates. Q: How can businesses adopt a “CSV” approach?A: There are mainly three ways: Reconceiving products and markets, meeting social needs while serving existing markets or accessing new ones through innovation. Redefining productivity in the value chain, improving the quality, quantity and reliability of products while driving economic development. Enabling local cluster development, leveraging their network of local suppliers, access to talent, and an effective infrastructural system to thrive. Q: How is CSV difference from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?A: Shared Value is more than just corporate social responsibility or philanthropy. It is about sound strategic thinking on the part of business leaders whose goal is to create sustainable shareholder value, and who understand how to engage with and invest in society in a way that is essential to long term business success and social progress. We will interview with three winning teams of the Outlier CSV Challenge:  Uplift, the champion team which concerns about the mental health of the students; Tech-kle, the 1st-runner up team which assists the visually impaired in e-learning; and Soscientist, the 2-nd runner up team which provides a job-matching platform for people of diverse race. Please stay tuned to understand how they won the cash prizes and internship opportunities with creativity!   Source: SIE Fund / Outlier CSV Challenge Facebook