Hong Kong Startup Council (“HKSC”), under the Federation of Hong Kong Industries (“FHKI”), organised the Matching Day of the 5^th STARS Programme under the theme of “PropTech + ESG” today. The Programme, sponsored by Citi, with the Hong Kong PropTech Alliance as the Strategic Partner, features 14 star-grade startups which pitched and showcased a range of innovative products or development projects to a house of prospective clients, investors and collaborators. Their innovations, ranging from low-carbon materials, housing design and management, artificial intelligence systems to robotic applications, aim to boost efficiency and ESG quality of the real estate industry in the areas of construction, renovation, design and property management.

Mr Jason Chiu, Chairman of HKSC, said, “Real estate sector is one of the most vital industries in Hong Kong. We believe innovative products and projects, incorporate with  automation and intelligence, can help the industry upgrade, not only to boost efficiency of properties development and quality of management, but also to build a greener environment to achieve the goal of sustainability in a people-oriented approach. We encourage more startups to incorporate ESG by design in their innovation.”

First organised in 2017, the STARS Programme has been providing training and matching for five different cohorts of startups. They work closely with industrialists they have paired with. Through one-to-one mentorship and practical workshops, they can explore collaboration, gain insights into product development, expand their businesses, or obtain investment to boost the commercialisation of their innovations. The 5^th cohort of startups will demonstrate their achievement to the investors and the public at Demo Day later this year.