Acclaimed Cyberport Venture Capital Forum returns to explore latest trends in venture capital

The Cyberport Venture Capital Forum (CVCF), Cyberport’s premier annual venture forum, returns on November 2–3. With the theme “Venturing for Success: Resilience, Growth, and Opportunity,” CVCF 2021 will bring together industry leaders, top-notch investors, enterprises, and technopreneurs. Amid promising market dynamics and rapid emergence of unicorns, these experts will discuss and share insights on trends in the global innovation and technology sector and venture capital, investor strategies, emerging venture capitals, opportunities and prospects in the Greater Bay Area, plus more. This year’s event will present a brand-new hybrid format with a unified experience of online and offline engagement, allowing startups to interact with potential investors in-person at the forum while showcasing their innovative tech solutions using the virtual platform. This multi-channel setup enhances global exposure, facilitates deal flow, and provides extensive opportunities for startups to explore fundraising opportunities.

As the digital technology flagship of Hong Kong, Cyberport is dedicated to facilitating deal flow for startups and enriching the regional venture capital landscape. The main forum of CVCF gathers more than 70 international and local experts from major industry players, including Alibaba Group, HKEX, Founders Space, Verizon Ventures, Two Sigma, Lever VC, Gobi Partners China, and IESE Business School, who will conduct in-depth discussions and share knowledge about popular areas in the tech venture landscape, covering topics such as disruptive tech (NFTs, robotics, foodtech, and more), fintech and cross-border financing, 5G technology, and family offices. Also, the event will cover emerging investment themes, including the new space economy, special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), and environmental, social, and governance (ESG).

CVCF 2021: A brand-new hybrid format with complementary advantages of the physical event and virtual experience

CVCF 2021 will present to audiences a hybrid experience of online and offline engagement for the first time without the hindrance of geographical restrictions. This excellent platform allows more global venture experts and entrepreneurial leaders to be included to offer insights into the latest fundraising strategies, market dynamics, value creation, as well as the tech and venture ecosystem. In addition to broadcasting forum and workshop content to a global audience 24/7, the virtual platform features an Innovator Showcase for promising startup exhibitors and an exclusive Investor Matching platform which allows more than 100 Cyberport technology and innovation companies to link up with investors.

For the first time, the forum will invite the Asia Technology Entrepreneurship Conference (ATEC), which is composed of Ivy League university alumni clubs, for discussion sessions. This will attract international investors to learn more about Hong Kong startups.

Peter Yan, CEO of Cyberport, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has lasted more than a year, yet the strong resilience of the I&T sector has led to major fundraising deals, driving the venture capital market to record levels. Three unicorns were born in Hong Kong within the span of two months this year, including Animoca Brands from Cyberport, reflecting investors’ confidence in Hong Kong’s startups. At the same time, the National 14th Five-Year Plan has clearly raised the support for Hong Kong to develop into an international innovation and technology center. Coupled with the vigorous development of the Greater Bay Area, we believe that Hong Kong’s venture capital atmosphere will become increasingly encouraging. More high-quality startups will attract more funding to help Hong Kong develop into an innovation and technology hub. Cyberport will continue to forge ahead through CVCF and the Cyberport Investor Network (CIN), to actively promote the venture capital ecosystem, and facilitate the integration of industries into the promising overall development of our country.”

Highly anticipated global event for insights into trends in industrial venture capital

Spotlight events of the CVCF 2021 will provide in-depth analysis of the development and opportunities of particular industries, the highlight being the first Cyberport FinTech InnoCon 2021 hosted by Cyberport. The conference will feature over 30 heavyweight speakers from professional bodies, renowned financial institutions, regulators, and the most promising startups to exchange insights on trends and opportunities in all areas of financial service after the FinTech PoC Subsidy Scheme. Topics to be examined include opportunities in the Greater Bay Area, value creation through ESG, regtech for Asian markets, untapped opportunities in insurtech, and more.

The Edventures Global Business Acceleration Summit (Edventures GBA Summit) held last year was universally well-received. Cyberport is pleased to co-create this summit together with Esperanza again this year. It will be held alongside internationally renowned venture capital event Silicon Dragon. “Under the theme of ‘Think big with edtech,’ the summit will discuss how technology could transition from enabling remote learning during the pandemic to driving innovations for 21st century learning,” said John C. Tsang, founder of Esperanza.

Experts will also share recent developments in edtech hotbeds. Bill Ning, founding partner of Blue Elephant Capital, will address the implications of the recent regulatory changes in the education market in mainland China. James Tieng and Vinit Sukhija, specialist edtech VCs from Lumos Capital and Learn Capital in the US, will share how private and philanthropic capital is increasingly deployed in the US and Europe to fund edtech ventures. Summit audiences will also learn how Israel and Finland built vibrant education innovation ecosystems, from Avi Warshavsky, CEO of MindCET; Olli Vallo, CEO of Education Alliance Finland; and Mia-Stiina Heikkala, project leader of NewCo Helsinki. The summit attendees will receive a “Global EdTech Markets Report” jointly published by Esperanza, Blue Elephant Capital, and SuperCharger Ventures.

Twelve finalists of the Edventures GBA Fellowship 2021 from Israel, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, India, and Hong Kong will also share their edtech solutions. They are looking for pilot opportunities and partners to support their expansion into Asia.

CVCF is a highly acclaimed flagship tech venture event for investors and entrepreneurs in the digital technology domain. It was held in an virtual interactive format for the first time in 2020, attracting more than 1,700 participants, with a total of more than 110,000 views. In all, 270 investors participated, resulting in more than 300 deals. The event successfully connected startups with investors and provided extensive opportunities for venture investments.

In order to further enrich the forum’s industry and market insights, a series of webinars will be held on CVCF’s online platform, starting next week. Industry leaders will share their insights and fresh perspectives on smart investments and digital transformations, and help enterprises pivot in the new normal.

For detailed information on related seminars and a complete lineup of speakers of the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum 2021, please visit the website: cvcf.cyberport.hk

About Cyberport

Cyberport is an innovative digital community with over 800 on-site startups and technology companies. It is managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, which is wholly owned by the Hong Kong SAR Government. With a vision to be the hub for digital technology, thereby creating a new economic driver for Hong Kong, Cyberport is committed to nurturing a vibrant tech ecosystem by cultivating talent, promoting entrepreneurship among youth, supporting startups on their growth journey, fostering industry development by promoting strategic collaboration with local and international partners, and integrating new and traditional economies by accelerating digital transformation in the public and private sectors.

For more information, please visit www.cyberport.hk

This was published in partnership with Cyberport.