Hong Kong Startup Council (“HKSC”), under the auspices of Federation of Hong Kong Industries (“FHKI”) is proud to announce that the virtual fair Demo Fest has concluded with flying colours, with thanks to the unwavering support from HSBC, the principal sponsor of the 3^rd cohort of the STARS Programme, and a house of supporting organisations.

Over the past two weeks, 12 STARS finalists have successfully demonstrated a row of value-added, cross-disciplinary solutions to over 40,000 visitors across different sectors, through online pitches. By engaging in a sequence of leadership dialogue sessions, industry gurus, business elites and seasoned mentors shared upside synergies brought by innovative technology, and exchanged their views on the latest development of the startup ecosystem. Throughout Demo Fest, 12 STARS finalists were vying for 3 awards via public voting, namely “Investors’ Favourite”, “Top Innovator” and “Best Pitcher”. We are proud to announce the winners as follows:

• With an invincible voting rate of 67%, FreightAmigo Services Limited was conferred “Investors’ Favourite”. Its flagship platform, one-stop supply chain finance eMarketplace has illuminated substantial potential for investment. Established in 2017, FreightAmigo has already rounded off seed funding and Pre Series-A funding;
• PowerArena Limited, with a preceding voting rate of 55%, was awarded “Top Innovator” for its proprietary AI solution for smart manufacturing, which functions like an Industrial Engineer to provide data-powered analyses upon productivity, and resolves the pressing problem of insufficient manpower within labour-intensive industries; 
• Scoring over a 63% voting rate, 2A Science (formerly 42Lab) was crowned “Best Pitcher”, in recognition of its exceptional ability to demonstrate its innovative strengths, funding potential and commercial viability through Demo Fest.

The judging panel, which was made up of startup consultants, industrialists, key business players, investors and mentors, evaluated STARS finalists on different dimensions and accorded 3 other awards at the closing of the Programme:

• FreightAmigo Services Limited was crowned “Startup with the Greatest Potential”, buoyed by its robust freight capability of serving an extensive base of clientele;
• Quikec International Limited received the award of “The Most Promising Startup” for its fully-fledged business model and innovative product;
• Wah Shing Toys Co Limited, as the most proactive advisor imparting industry best practices and useful skills on startups, clinched the “The Most Insightful Industrialist” award. 

Demo Fest marks the finale of the 3^rd cohort of the STARS Programme, which is a theme-based, mentorship-oriented journey for fledgling and fast-growing startups. Receiving a diverse range of support from the Programme, shortlisted startups collaborated with industrialists in tandem to co-create industry-driven solutions. The solutions, empowered with a raft of frontier technologies, are set to drive a new wave of industry upgrades and transformation.

Jason Chiu, Chairman of Hong Kong Startup Council said “Manifestly as a virtual fair, Demo Fest enables startups to showcase their tech-powered innovations round-the-clock, breaking free of spatial and temporal constraints imposed by physical events. Compared with similar events of around 100 guests, Demo Fest reported a record of over 40,000 visitors and 50,000 pageviews. This represents a strong interest and terrific participation from local and overseas startup communities in spite of the immensely tough times.”

“HKSC is of full commitment to enabling more startups to capture business matching, networking as well as publicity opportunities. I’m excited to see how our STARS finalists have garnered recognition, merits and awareness through Demo Fest. I’m also delighted to know many startups remain active in bridging industrialists with more technological applications and are making great strides in smart manufacturing. Upon graduation, 12 STARS startups are poised to impart technological benefits on incumbent industrial players on other fronts, scaling their successes to new heights,” Jason added.