Two days of fruitful, riveting discussion about tech venturing once again dominated the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum 2020 (CVCF). This year, the annual flagship tech investment event adopted a virtual format for the first time and welcomed more than 1,700 participants. Shortly after the main conference, CVCF’s virtual event platform, launched since mid-October, has already recorded 97,000 views. Audience actions continue on the platform which remains open till 23 November, giving much flexibility for audiences to watch session videos on-demand, arrange online meetings and visit showcases.
At the CVCF opening celebrating the third year of Cyberport Investors Network (CIN), Cindy Chow, CIN Steering Group, reported that CIN managed to connect investors to 11 projects this year to secure investments totalling HK$267 million and covering multiple areas including FinTech, artificial intelligence & big data, corporate solutions, Internet of Things (IoT) and smart living. Since its establishment in 2017, the CIN has facilitated investments reaching HK$629 million in total, supporting 37 projects in the process. Cyberport Macro Fund (CMF) has also committed HK$32 million to 5 start-ups and attracted HK$394 million worth of co-investments over the past 9 months, representing an impressive investment ratio of 1:12. Looking ahead, the CIN will set up sub-committees for early and growth stage start-ups respectively, conduct targeted business matching catering different stages of growth to foster fundraising opportunities, and step up knowledge sharing among CIN members.
More than 60 elite speakers comprising investors, entrepreneurs, start-ups, and researchers offered eye-opening insights into a host of topics related to the theme “Navigating New Normal of Tech Venturing”, covering US-China geopolitical and trade dynamics, pandemic impacts and post-COVID strategies, global and regional capital flow, hot sectors and investible technologies, corporate venture and open innovation, Asia and GBA opportunities, addressing funding gap, new venture avenues of venture debts, special purpose acquisition company, and IPOs, and expert tips for start-ups. Key takeaways of the forum are available at “Venture in Focus” section on CVCF website.
Start-ups also received ample opportunities to meet with investors, showcase their solutions, and hone their entrepreneurial skills. More than 250 deal flows were arranged during the period, including a new dedicated matching partnered with Jumpstart Media, exclusively arranged for Cyberport start-ups to accelerate more fundraising opportunities.
The inaugural Edventures Global Business Acceleration Summit, co-created by Esperanza and Cyberport as a CVCF spotlight event, placed EdTech and the future of education front and centre. The Summit explored global trends and developments in education and EdTech, and identified the specific challenges and tremendous opportunities now blossoming globally especially Mainland China. Silicon Dragon Hong Kong 2020, another CVCF spotlight event, looked into the “Tech Titans 2020 & Beyond”.
The EdVentures GBA Fellowship staged its final pitching contest to pick the top 3 winners among the shortlisted 10 promising EdTech ventures. Winners are CoderZ Technology (Israel; “Education Solutions: Greatest Growth Potential”), Cybint (Israel/US; “Best Adult Learning Solutions”), and MEL Science (UK, “Education Solutions: Highest Potential Impact”). Mandarin Matrix from the Cyberport Community claimed “Audience Favourite”. Winners could gain access to more global business and investment opportunities, especially in the Greater Bay Area, and benefit from Cyberport’s entrepreneurial support.
For those interested in watching replays of all the exciting sessions, visiting 100+ innovative showcases and more online networking, login in again or sign up to access the CVCF platform before 23 November.
