Cyberport Creative Micro Fund offers
Creative Industry awardees Seed Money to
Realise Innovative Business Concepts and Product Ideas
(HONG KONG, 11 January 2010) – Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (Cyberport) awarded five hundred thousand dollars in grants from its Cyberport Creative Micro Fund (CCMF) Pilot Scheme to five promising startup projects in digital creative innovation. The 5 awardees conduct proof of concept prototypes in mobile ebooks reader, mobile KTV, intelligent investment platform, 3D online marketplace and green SmartPad, and were awarded $100,000 each.
To encourage the development of local creative industries and business, Cyberport initiated the CCMF pilot scheme by providing first-step seed funding to innovative projects or business concepts in digital entertainment, digital content and digital lifestyle, to help bring them a step closer toward commercial realization.
Mr. Nick Yang, CEO of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited emphasized that “the $100,000 is just a start. We believe that the CCMF model will demonstrate the viability and success of a new trend of private-sector driven financial support to the development of creative business in Hong Kong.”
Cyberport also offers another platform for startup assistance through the Cyberport IncuTrain Programme whereby services such as business management, marketing, networking and legal advice will be provided in addition to the free rental and use of Cyberport’s offices and state-of-the-art facilities.
It is expected that with the success of the CCMF Pilot Scheme, the grant for next year would probably increase and so more companies and individuals will be able to benefit from it. At the press conference today, one of Cyberport IncuTrain Programme’s graduate, Frenzoo, was invited to share its experience in joining the Programme, its path to success, as well as to introduce its latest product.
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Awardees: |
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Aldiko Limited
- Chi Man (Tiffany) Wong, Co-founder
- Minh Truong, Co-founder |
n founded in July 2009
n focuses on developing ebook reading solutions that revolutionize the way people access and consume digital contents
n enables readers to seamlessly discover, purchase, read and organize ebooks on a variety of devices
n can run on multiple platforms, including smartphones, media tablets or netbooks
n allows readers to seamlessly download books right within the application
n becoming the most popular ebook application on the Google Android platform
n Tiffany is also a regular contributor at Teleread, one of the top blogs covering the publishing industry
n Truong worked three years as a senior software engineer at a major handset manufacturing company where he participated in the development of Android and Symbian-based smartphones |
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DSP4YOU Ltd.
- Antoine Rouget, Co-founder
- Winnie Leung, Co-founder |
n provides innovative control solutions by leveraging IT networks
n designs products for the commercial audio & visual market
n will develop a dual set called SmartPad & InTelliUp.com
n SmartPad is a low-cost wall-mounted keypad that achieves control and energy saving in one product
n InTelliUp.com is a complementary environmental awareness and social networking website |
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Music Powerhouse Limited
- Alan Choy, Director
- Fung Lai Chi, Music Content Director
- Lindsay Chung, Technical Director
- Dominique Tu, Sales & Marketing Director |
n founded in October 2007
n aims to apply the latest technologies, knowledge and network in music industry to provide solutions to enhance the value and enjoyment of music, and create more business opportunities
n is a Hong Kong Cyberport IncuTrain Centre’s on-site member
n has successfully established 3 business streams that are supplementary to each other and cover music discovery, distribution and production respectively
n earned the Company the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards – 2009 Start Up Company Merit honour |
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Stock Master Investment (SMILE)
- Mr. Eric Di Wu, Executive Officer
- Mr. Jeffrey Cheung, Executive Officer
- Mr. Chen Bo
- Mr. Jason Sin Yuen Kai |
n formed by a group of Financial Engineering PhD candidates from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and experienced management executives
n aims to develop an intelligent, easy-to-use stock strategic trading system that give alerts and signals for casual and regular traders
n Eric is experienced in both abundant management and intensive technology transfer for large IT companies, like Microsoft Research
n Jeffrey holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, a BS from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a BS from The Moore School of Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania
n Chen has been researching on machine learning and data mining technology for over four years
n Jason is a qualified accountant (ACCA) with a MBA degree from CUHK, and will be responsible to establish all accounting and financial control systems for the new start-up |
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Alkheme Limited
- Brennan Mulligan, Founder and CEO
- Yumin Liang, CTO
- Matt Revelli, CMO |
n an on-demand marketplace and provider of casual apparel and lifestyle products – allow designers to embellish configurable products online and publish for individual purchase
n plans to build a product configuration platform whereby users can upload their content and configure products to their own specifications – the user will be able to publish their products for sale in the Alkeme marketplace, web marketplaces and social media websites
n brings new physical product designs to market quickly and adapt flexibly to fashion trends – design tool will also serve as a proof-of-concept for the designing and creation of actual physical products
n users will come to earn their livelihood via royalties earned through sale of their merchandise, enjoying the freedom to pursue their passions in an economically rewarding endeavor |
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Cyberport IncuTrain Centre Alumni: |
Frenzoo
Simon Newstead, Co-founder and CEO |
n seed investment from Ambient Sound Investments (ASI), an investment company formed by the co-founders and creators of Skype
n is launching the very first open 3D virtual world on the web
n first browser based world supporting full 3D importing and user content
n catalog is made up of created items by users
n alumni of the Cyberport Digital Entertainment Incubation-cum-Training Program and winner of the Cyberport IncuTrain Excellence Award on 2008
n winner of the Hong Kong ICT Award 2007: Best Digital Entertainment (Digital Entertainment Software)
n Simon led a $US 30 million emerging technology business for Internet pioneer Juniper Networks |