Forget the US and Europe, Hong Kong’s entrepreneurs need to look to the region for the best opportunities
Eric Stryson says a greater understanding of the circumstances our neighbours live in and services that would benefit them would help fulfil the chief executive’s ambition of making Hong Kong an international innovation hub
This week is Hong Kong FinTech Week. It will undoubtedly be hailed as another step towards realising the city’s vision of becoming an “international innovation hub”, as described in Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s policy address. Yet, if Hong Kong is to realise this ambition, it must look beyond finance. Lam also spoke about diversifying the economy, and entrepreneurs must embrace business models that are internationally relevant and serve the needs of the masses beyond our borders.
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But are Hong Kong entrepreneurs ready to do the hard work to understand what the wider world is really like, and could they start by just looking at the region?
Chief Executive Carrie Lam meets the press before an Executive Council meeting at government headquarters in Tamar. As part of her policy address, Lam pledged to double the amount spent on research and development. Photo: Dickson Lee
Local entrepreneurs will surely continue to create new ways of helping us do things faster and more effortlessly – apps for yet another food delivery service come to mind. But geographic location is Hong Kong’s strategic differentiator – immediate access to mainland China, and direct connections to both Asean and the Indian subcontinent. This must be leveraged, alongside our ultra-efficient business environment, legal system and strong institutions.
Hongkongers need to get their hands dirty in the streets of this vast region. That is where opportunities beckon. They need greater awareness, curiosity and resilience, exploring places beyond the popular holiday destinations of Japan, Taiwan, Phuket and Bali. Top of the list might be Manila, Surabaya, Chennai and second- and third-tier cities in mainland China, like Lanzhou or Wuhan. Too often seen as dirty frontier land, dangerous or even backward, these places are where the action is. All entrepreneurs should note that Jack Ma did not innovate in a state-sponsored incubator. He innovated because he had a view of a China borne out of experience.
Innovation in these regions means something very different because lifestyles and socio-economic development status are completely unlike ours in Hong Kong. Scalable innovations will be more closely related to providing and improving things we take for granted, like access to clean water, adequate housing, health care and transport solutions for mobility in congested cities.
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Singapore, for example, has capitalised on infrastructure needs in Vietnam by exporting its water treatment technologies. More than 30 biomedical companies use Singapore as a regional hub, investing in clinical research.
