Young entrepreneurs in Hong Kong pledged on Thursday to play a greater role in inspiring and helping their peers in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area tap into opportunities emerging from the region’s coordinated development.
With their innovative spirit and intelligence, the young generation is expected to play an important role in the continuing development in the region, Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said
Seventy-eight young entrepreneurs from Guangdong province, Hong Kong, and Macao were recognized at the first Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Outstanding Young Entrepreneurs ceremony. The award ceremony was separately held in Hong Kong, Macao, and Shenzhen simultaneously.
The awards, established by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area Entrepreneurs Union, recognize young entrepreneurs’ achievements in technological innovation, business services, and social responsibility.
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Gordon Lam Chi-wing, who received the Outstanding Young Entrepreneurs Award, told China Daily that he felt a duty to assist young people from Hong Kong to scout out business opportunities in the region.
Lam is now board executive director of Bonjour, a Hong Kong-based cosmetics chain operator. He said he hopes that the e-commerce platform built by his company can be a stage for Hong Kong startups to exploit space for development, such as securing more orders from the vast mainland market.
Philip Yu, general manager of H3C of Hong Kong and Macao, a digital-solutions company to help local organizations with digital transformation, said he believes the industry can offer more opportunities for young people, given the growing demand for online office systems due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yu, awarded the Best Business Service Prize, said that with their minds open to new technologies, young people could make local offices more efficient.
Cathy Jim Ka-wai, director of RHT Industries Ltd, a Hong Kong startup focusing on green technology, won the Best Technological Innovation Prize with a locally developed air purifying system. Jim said the prize gave her more motivation to promote the technology.
Also at the ceremony, regional officials and business leaders said they expect more young people to play a role in the Bay Area’s development, and they vowed to offer related support.
Speaking at the awards presentation ceremony, Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said he hopes the members of the Entrepreneurs Union can provide young people with more internships and jobs so that they can broaden their contacts and enrich their experiences.
The integration of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao has brought broad development potential for young people in the three places. With their innovative spirit and intelligence, the young generation is expected to play an important role in the continuing development in the region, Cheung said.
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In a live webcast speech, Shenzhen Vice-Mayor Ai Xuefeng said he expected awardees to lead by example by inspiring more young people to start their own businesses and following their careers in the Bay Area.
The Shenzhen government will continue to fully implement policies and measures to facilitate the establishment and development of the startups in the city, Ai said.
