HKSTP bets on one-campus model to boost startups

The integrated approach contrasts with Singapore's decentralised support system.

Singapore's startup ecosystem may span multiple agencies, but Hong Kong is betting that putting funding, laboratories, investors, business partners, and startup support services on a single campus can speed up the journey from research to commercialisation.

The Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) offers startups office space, laboratories, funding, investor access, marketing support, and dedicated account managers within its science park, Eric Or, chief ecosystem development officer at HKSTP, told reporters on 2 July.

“We have something end-to-end,” Or said. “That’s our differentiation, because everything that I talked about is happening within the science park.”

Successful applicants receive seed funding of about $16,500 (HK$100,000), followed by grants of up to $214,000 (HK$1.3m). Startups that meet growth targets can access as much as $3.5m (HK$21m) in combined funding and support.

HKSTP also offers office space at heavily subsidised rents, whilst the campus has spent about $33m (HK$200m) over the past four years building research labs that startups can use at minimal cost.

“We charge them almost nothing because some of these startups can't afford expensive labs,” Or said.

He added that account managers help founders recruit staff, connect with banks and investors, find customers, and market their products.

The ecosystem includes delivery platform Lalamove, operated by Easy Mobile Logistics Hong Kong Ltd. and artificial intelligence company SmartMore Corporation Ltd. HKSTP said it has supported 13 unicorns, including five founded in Hong Kong.

Singapore also offers grants, funding, and business support through organisations such as Enterprise Singapore and StageOne, but Or said those services are spread across multiple agencies and locations rather than a single integrated campus.

HKSTP spans 22 hectares and houses about 360 biotechnology companies, more than 17,000 research and development professionals, and about 26,000 workers.

Or said the park is reserved for research activities rather than sales operations. He noted that one company was asked to leave after converting its office into a sales centre.

HKSTP has not received government funding since 2018, Or said. It operates its own investment fund with portfolio assets of about $296m (HK$1.8b) across 117 companies.

The programme is open to founders of any nationality, provided their businesses are registered in Hong Kong.

($1 = HK$6.06 as of 2 July 2026)

The people you want to reach are already in this room.

Every quarter, SBR lands on the desks of the founders, CFOs, and directors running Asia's most consequential companies. Every day, they open our newsletter and read our website. It's a room that took twenty years to build — and it's the one most of our partners are trying to get into.

The good news is that the door is open. We work with companies on thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. The shape of the right partnership depends on what you're trying to do, which is why we'd rather start with a conversation than send a rate card.

If you have something this room should know about, tell us. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.

No rate cards until we understand the brief. It's a better use of everyone's time.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia