Tan Yifan

cicitan2011@gmail.com

LAU PAK-LAM, co-founder of a Hong Kong smart luggage brand, relocated three years ago to Qianhai, Shenzhen, the core of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, where allocating resources is easy.

A graduate from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Lau received professional training and help toward his entrepreneurial endeavors at the school’s incubating center from the very beginning. To ensure that his project would progress smoothly, Lau had to travel between Hong Kong and Shenzhen constantly.

“Shenzhen has a complete supply chain. At that time, I came to the city for hardware and manufacturing. I noticed that tech companies and the whole industry were booming here. I knew I had come to the right place,” he said.

In 2016, the opportunity for Lau to get closer to the core of innovation and manufacture came. With support from his tutor and teammates, he was encouraged to join a startup competition in Qianhai, where he won his first big prize of entrepreneurship and his career took off. He was offered free office space and consultation to work there.

“It was my first time coming to Qianhai and joining in a roadshow and such competition. I was impressed by the area and didn’t expect that it would be the new base of our company,” Lau said.

He quickly adapted to the new environment and found it was a very suitable environment for startup growth.

“No matter what we talk about – the industry resources, the early-stage funding, or the promotion channels – we find they are all very healthy, all connected, which helps us a lot,” he said.

After settling in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub (E-hub), a government-sponsored incubator and innovation platform, Lau and his partners from Hong Kong were provided with low-rent apartments in Qianhai and subsidies for daily costs such as transportation.

In addition to the benefits offered by the authorities, Lau said his project has undergone rapid growth owing to the resources provided in the Greater Bay Area.

“We produce a smart trolley case that has three main functions: digital scale, global tracking and digital lock. The Greater Bay Area can offer us almost everything we need,” he said. “For instance, Guangdong is the biggest high-end luggage and bag manufacturing center in the world, which means we are on the upstream of the industry; Shenzhen is Asia’s Silicon Valley, where we can order electronic components like ordering takeaway food. It also gathers many competitive professional workers from IT and tech industries, while Hong Kong is the hub for world-renowned bag brands, which makes it convenient for us to connect with them.”

Taking advantage of the resources in the Greater Bay Area, Lau’s products have gained popularity among customers. He said his achievements have made him confident when inviting his peers in Hong Kong to work in Shenzhen or other cities on the mainland.

“A few weeks ago, I was invited to share my experiences with the students at CUHK. A lot of students asked me about opportunities in Shenzhen or other cities. I can definitely see the passion of coming to the north like Shenzhen or even Shanghai or Beijing is much bigger that before. I tried to explain everything in 30 minutes, and I encouraged all Hong Kong youngsters to try to experience a career here,” he said.

“Shenzhen is one of the best places in the world in terms of hardware or AI-related industries. Everything is fast, you can build your product in the most cost-effective way. With the support from the Central Government, Shenzhen, as a demonstration city, will offer more opportunities and support for Hong Kong youth to start their careers here. The business environment is good. As long as you are a talent and your product or innovation is competitive, you can absolutely enjoy a fair market here,” Lau added.

A series of new polices specially designed for Hong Kong and Macao entrepreneurs and companies were released by the Qianhai Authority recently. More feasible and handsome subsides will be given and a large project for entrepreneurship is under construction, making the area the first and ideal stop for Hong Kong and Macao residents seeking chances in the north.