Startup Impact Summit 2020 (#SIS20), a part of StartmeupHK Festival 2020, has wrapped up its online conference. Hosted by WHub, Hong Kong’s startup community platform and connector, and organised by Invest Hong Kong, the conference claimed to have attracted over 5,000 attendees across two days.
The conference featured a series of keynote sessions, panel discussions, fireside chats, and workshops with speakers from some of the biggest players in the startup scene, including Ester Wong from Sensetime, Alex Zaccaria from Linktree, Nick Halla from Impossible Foods, and Satya Tammareddy from Stripe.
“This is the first year we’ve held the Startup Impact Summit online and we are beyond thrilled by the level of attendance, the quality of speakers and the tremendous feedback from our attendees, supporters, partners and participants. Technology is changing the way we live and work and also the way we conference,” says Karena Belin, Co-Founder and CEO of WHub and AngelHub.
“This is a testament to the true potential of the startup and tech scene in Hong Kong and the power it has for doing business on an international level,” Belin added.
One of the session talked about the role of diversity and inclusion in impact and innovation. The panel of young entrepreneurs each in their own way discussed how they have developed their businesses based on different themes of diversity and inclusion within the context of the LGBT community.
Palis Pitsuttisarun, Founder of Prism; Jason Miao, Founder of Pacific Connect Group; and Ryan Figueiredo, Executive Director of Equal Asia Foundation; all found that diversity and inclusiveness in a startup ecosystem result in incredibly innovative ideas.
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In addition to Startup Impact Summit 2020, Hack.Asia, the annual hackathon hosted by WHub and powered by Jardines, also took place from July 6-8. More than 800 startups, students and innovators participated in the final round of Hack.Asia, a 36-hour virtual hackathon with the support from educational institutions and startup ecosystems around the world.
This year, the hackathon received over 1,000 applications from more than 10 countries. Eighty-four finalist teams (comprising 34 startups and 50 student-led teams) were selected for developing and designing technology-driven solutions to address challenges faced by market-leading businesses in the region.
Winners received cash prizes and the opportunity to advance a Proof of Concept with the sponsor.
The final pitches and award ceremony took place on the Main Stage (powered by Visa) during Startup Impact Summit at StartmeupHK Festival 2020. The Grand Prize was awarded to FoodieXpress, an AI-enabled business intelligence platform from Boston.
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Image Credit: StartmeupHK Festival 2020
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