One of the startup's ways to get funding and popularity is by participating in as many accelerator programs, pitching programs or continuing to participate in presentations at the international level. Alibaba, which is not only famous for its products, also provides funds through the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund program.
Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund is an initiative launched by Alibaba Group since 2015 to find new startups that are active in innovation and technology. Even through this fund, they are looking for startups that also want to be based in Hong Kong, with the aim of penetrating the Chinese market.
More interestingly, for last year one of the startups from Malaysia, Food Market Hub, was shortlisted in the top 10 startups, where they came with a solution to digitize restaurant operations and connect them with suppliers directly, to reduce food waste and make payments easier for restaurant owners .
For this second year, the JUMPSTARTER 2023 program will offer HKD 1 Million (~RM 569,000) in cash for the first winner, and the top 30 startups will also have a chance to win investment funds of up to USD 5 Million (~RM 22 Million). A total of 8 industries are targeted, including two newly added industries for this year, namely Biotech and Web 3.
Interested startups can start sending entries until May 14, 2023, with the shortlisting of the top 100 startups to be announced in June 2023. 30 Startups will be shortlisted in September 2023 for pitching around November 2023.
If you are a startup that wants to penetrate the Chinese market, you can use this JUMPSTARTER 2023 program as a stepping stone to expand your startup's wings.