Now is a golden time to be involved in China, says Hong Kong entrepreneur behind Didi Chuxing
In the second of a three-part series on InnoStars Award, organised by Our Hong Kong Foundation to recognise leaders and promote innovation, City Weekend talks to Joe Lee, one of the co-founders of China’s largest ride-hailing platform
As Uber continues its uphill battle to gain a legal foothold in Hong Kong, the American company’s Chinese rival, which drove it out of the mainland a few years ago, has announced plans to expand by launching services in Mexico.
What is less known about the creation of China’s largest ride-hailing firm is that Kuaidi Dache was the brainchild of Hongkonger Joe Lee, and his success is a perfect example of what can be achieved if the city’s entrepreneurs take their skills to mainland China.
A mathematics and accounting graduate from Waterloo University in Canada, Lee swapped a career in accounting to pursue a dream and designed the app that was inspired by a desire to create a socially aware product that could improve the customer experience for those needing a taxi on the mainland.
He oversaw the entire Kuaidi operation, from designing the app to starting the taxi and limo hailing business model from scratch. He is not a programmer by training, although a 100-strong engineering team reported to him.
