A: We accept applications only from for profit companies. However, ventures with a strong social mission are encouraged. Indeed an award will go to the venture with the highest potential impact.

A: Yes, absolutely. We’re here to help you accelerate your global expansion plans.

A: The information you present in your PDF submission should be content that is shareable with the Fellowship Secretariat and members of the vetting and judging panels. If you’re selected as a fellow, we’ll ask you to share some of your financials, but these will be kept strictly confidential and shared only with the judges.

A: Certainly. Most big markets have room for several slightly different solutions, and it's unlikely that two startups would do precisely the same thing!

A: We may still consider your application, but priority will go to those companies that meet one or more of the requirements.

A: Absolutely, as long as the representative attending the Fellowship Programme is part of the leadership team of your venture.

A: No problem, you can have more of your team join us. However, we can only sponsor travel and accommodation for one person.

A: The video forms part of the application. But it does not have to be ‘professionally’ made. We will accept videos in .mp4/.mov/.ppt/.avi formats. It will be nice but not compulsory to provide English subtitles for the video. Subtitles can be generated using free software like Otter.

A: Yes, we commit to you that your financials will be kept confidential to the Fellowship Secretariat and the judging team.

Q: Is it compulsory to follow the itinerary to all the cities mentioned in the Fellowship Programme?

A: No, it isn’t compulsory. 'The final visit to Dongguan will be kept optional for Fellows who are not interested in visiting the manufacturing/hardware hub, and can instead return to Hong Kong on Day 5.

Q: How can we demonstrate the learning outcome and impact?

A: You can demonstrate the learning outcome and impact of your solution using quantitative and/or qualitative means.

Q: Are all types of early-stage startups able to apply?

A: For assessment, we will look at the value proposition of your venture, team strength and whether your solution is scalable. Also we will look at the learning outcome and impact and whether there is a fit between your startup and the opportunities that this region in Asia can offer to you. The basic criteria is only that you have already had a proven solution in your home market and are ready to expand internationally. For the assessment criteria and application requirements, please refer to “Who Should Apply” section.)

Q: Is it mandatory for my startup to be based out of Hongkong to participate?

A: No, we welcome startups from all corners of the world to join!

Q: Is this program targeting companies willing to have an office in HK? Or companies willing to establish in APAC more generally?

A: Since we are based out of Hong Kong, we welcome more startups to have a presence in Hong Kong but we are aware that it may not be feasible for all startups to have different offices around the world. This is why one of our Fellowship objectives is to encourage startups that are interested in the Greater Bay region, to look for partners in Hong Kong where they will be your soldiers on the ground - to help you with your business development, marketing, fundraising etc. During the Fellowship, we will ensure to promote your startup extensively so you may be able to find partners that can help you establish business here.

On the flip side, if you are based in Asia and want to go abroad for example North America, we have network, partners and resources from around the world supporting the Fellowship that can enable you to have a global presence.

Q: What is the preference regarding the home base of the startup? Are you trying to get us startups coming to Asia or to help Asian startups to expand in the US?

A: We are here to help startups from all corners of the world to go outside your home market. So it applies to American startups who want to go to Asia. It also applies to Asian startups who want to expand to the American market and hopefully we can foster the partnership between these two groups of startups.

Q: Are you looking for any specific school learning related early-stage start-ups?

A: No, we are in fact looking for both K-12 school solutions, as well ed-tech solutions that can help upscale our workforce in the corporate e-learning arena.

Q: Should the 1 minute video be about the company intro? Or should it cover some of the same information as the slides?

A: The slides and video should be telling us your story on the key aspects of your business. In the video you can do it through a creative narrative or follow a script of the same information on the 10 slides - we are not rigid on the format of how you tell us your story.

Q: Can you just give a brief description of the Hong Kong education system?

A: Hong Kong has a very diverse education ecosystem, making it an ideal launchpad for EdTech startups from around the world to scale-up.

We have public schools funded by the government, but we also have private schools operating alongside which follow different systems like the International baccalaureate system.

For an EdTech startup that wants to experiment or pilot your new solutions, you can have an abundant source of different schools as potential clients to try out your solutions.