With a pool of top talent, a market with plenty of opportunities, and affordable living and working spaces, it’s easy to see why Hong Kong is a great place to start a tech company. Hong Kong was recently ranked as the 5th fastest growing startup ecosystem in the world, with more companies launching every day. Part of this success comes from the rising availability of funding. These funding resources have the potential to drive Hong Kong's startup ecosystem to even greater heights.

If you’re looking for investment for your startup in Hong Kong, then check out this massive list of some of the most important funding sources, regardless of how far along your startup is.

The Founder Institute is currently enrolling in Hong Kong. Apply today to build a startup with Hong Kong's top entrepreneurs and investors!

Early Stage Funding in Hong Kong

Notable Seed Accelerators in Hong Kong

A "seed accelerator" is a cohort-based program that typically accepts teams (not solo-founders) with a product (functional prototype or live product) and some form of traction (for example, user, revenue, or team growth). If accepted to a seed-accelerator, a company typically receives a small investment ($15,000-$150,000) in exchange for equity (6-10%). The goal of a seed-accelerator is to help companies accelerate their product or user growth during the program (typically 3-6 months) in order to raise a proper Angel or Seed Round of funding at the "Demo Day" that concludes the program.

• Ablaze
• AIA Accelerator
• Betatron
• Blueprint B2B Tech Accelerator
• Brinc
• DBS Accelerator
• FinTech Innovation Lab
• G-Startup Worldwide Hong Kong
• Infiniti Lab
• SOW Asia i2i Accelerator Programme
• SuperCharger FinTech Accelerator
• Zeroth.ai
• LimeHK

Notable Angel Investors in Hong Kong

Angel investors are people that typically invest their personal capital in early-stage startups or entrepreneurs, and generally provide only a small one-time investment to help the business grow. They generally provide more favorable terms compared to other types of investors, since they usually invest in the earliest stages of a business, and are more focused on helping startups build a product instead of generating a profit. Angel investors sometimes go by other names, including “informal investors”, “angel funders”, “private investors”, “seed investors”, and “business angels”. Many angel investors are also professional investors and run more advanced venture funds. 

• Adam Lindemann
• Alan Chan
• Allison Baum
• B. Paul Santos
• Brett Mason
• Carman Chan
• Chipper Boulas
• Edith Yeung
• Gordon Yen
• Hilton Tam
• Jag Singh
• Martin Haigh
• Matt Cheng
• Max Burger
• Richard Chan
• Rick Myers
• Shu Duan
• Sid Mewara
• Tommy Chia
• Tytus Michalski
• William Bao Bean
• Yat Siu

Notable Angel Investor Groups and Events in Hong Kong

Angel investor groups are networks, or syndicates, of angel investors who pool their resources together to invest more money than would typically be issued with a private angel investment. Most angel networks focus their efforts on sectors or verticals in which members have experience or knowledge, although they are usually open to investments in other areas. In general, investors in groups contribute funds to the group, and a professional syndicate management team chooses the investments. The resources below are both formal angel investor groups, and also events and networks that informally gather many angel investors.

• Angel Investment Network Hong Kong
• AngelVest Group
• Big Bloom
• Ellevate
• FundForum Asia
• Hong Kong Business Angel Network
• Hong Kong Investor Relations Association
• Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association
• iFAST
• RISE Conference
• Startup Angels Hong Kong
• Startup Asia
• TiE Hong Kong
• Venture Investor Alliance of Hong Kong

Growth Stage Funding

Notable Venture Capital Firms in Hong Kong

Venture Capital ("VC") firms provide startup or growth equity capital and/or loan capital to promising ventures for returns that are higher than market interest rates, and typically focus on later stage companies. VC firms only invest in companies that have long-term growth potential of at least 10X their investment, and that already have considerable traction (very fast revenue or user growth), a strong team, and a viable product or service. Because of these high standards, generally less than .1% of businesses are funded by venture capital.

There are also many different types of VC firms. The first (and lowest) funding level for VCs is typically called a "Seed Round", which is appropriate for smaller companies that have just recently generated traction and need capital to fuel the fire of growth. After that, rounds of subsequent funding are categorized by letter ("Series-A", "Series-B", "Series-C", and so on), with the investment amount (and maturity of the business receiving funding) getting larger as the letters progress down the alphabet. Some firms invest across many (or all) of these types of rounds, but most specifically focus on one or two of these stages.

• Apax Partners
• Arbor Ventures
• Bigcolors
• Bright Success Capital
• Click Ventures
• Fresco Capital
• Golden Gate Ventures
• Horizons Ventures
• Mind Fund
• MindWorks Ventures
• Mount Parker Ventures
• Nova Founders Capital
• Regatta Capital Management
• SXE Ventures
• Sequoia Capital
• Steamboat Ventures
• Vickers Venture Partners
• Vectr Ventures

Are you a solo-founder, or is your company or idea too early for these funding options?

The Founder Institute is an idea-stage accelerator that works with solo-entrepreneurs, and teams, during the earliest stages of building a business. Through an intensive 3.5 month program, FI participants build their business through a proven structured process, and receive feedback and assistance from over 30+ successful entrepreneurs and investors in Hong Kong. Upon completing the program, Graduates join a global network of entrepreneurs and receive ongoing help to get funding and build their business. FI Graduates have raised over $1.85BN in funding, and are building some of the world's fastest growing companies.

Learn more about the Founder Institute at FI.co, join a free startup event in Hong Kong, or apply to build a startup in Hong Kong today.