Feb 22, 2023

By Digital News Asia February 22, 2023 Startups are encouraged to integrate UN Sustainable Goals The top 30 startups will be eligible for investment and cash prizes Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund (AEF) announced the JUMPSTARTER 2023 Global Pitch Competition is now open for applications. Jumpstarter 2023 is open for applications from now until 14 May 2023. The top 100 entrants will be selected by the judging panel and enter the pitching phase in late June. From there the top 30 participants will be announced in September and enter the finals in November in Hong Kong. The top 30 start-ups will also all be eligible and considered for investment of up to US$5 million (RM22.16 million). In addition, Jumpstarter2023 will offer a US$127,500 (HK$1 million) cash prize to the first prize winner and other awardees. In addition to Sustainability, Healthcare, Fintech, Art-Tech, Deep Tech/AI & Data/Robotics, Biotech/Life Science, Industry 4.0, and Web 3.0 has been added to the list of industry focuses in Jumpstarter 2023. It has also widened the participation requirement to include start-ups in the ideation stage or growth stage that have raised less than US$20 million in funding to date. Start-ups that have operated for less than five years intending to develop in Hong Kong and/or other cities in China’s Greater Bay Area are also welcomed. Jumpstarter 2023 also encourages start-ups to include one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their business direction. Jumpstarter 2023 will host a series of in-person information sessions, including cities in China’s Greater Bay Area and Southeast Asia. Successful entrepreneurs and industry experts will be invited to the sessions to share their entrepreneurial journeys and challenges as well as to examine the current business climate and growth prospects in the market. As of 31 December 2022, AEF had invested over US$80 million into over 60 startups, attracting co-investment funding of more than US$2.5 billion. Its investment portfolio covers industries including biotech, fintech, edu-tech, green and sustainability, medical and healthcare, and more. Visit https://www.jumpstarter.hk/en/ for more details.