Nordic Innovation Houses exist in four places now: New York, Palo Alto, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Hong Kong has just opened. They are initiated and managed by the Nordic Council and are to give Nordic companies, from startups to corporations, a head start in the most relevant global innovation hubs by offering a strong community, connections to the local ecosystem, and programs for acceleration.
Mrs. Binh Johansson has just been appointed Director. She has just visited the Nordic countries and made her first stop in Lund/Malmö on August 19. She is, after all, a graduate of Lund University. HKCCSE South organized a program for her on that day. She met responsible representatives for a number of the relevant strategic and important organizations: Lund University, ESS (European Spallation Source), Medicon Village, Ideon Science Park, Ideon Innovation, Region Skåne (including the President of the Council), Invest in Skåne, Medicon Valley Alliance, former chair of European Institute of Innovation and Technology, Nordic Center for Sustainable Healthcare, Multihelix and the Board of HKCCSE South. The program lasted from 0800 until around 1800. Binh met with directors and leading persons for these organizations, which represent virtually all innovation organizations and research parks in southern Sweden. Their networks include almost a thousand sme: s in primary bio, Pharma, healthcare, IT, AI, food, climate, games, etc. The interest in Hong Kong was very large and mutual and was on a very concrete level with a lot of contact opportunities through NIHHK. Our web meeting Lund – Hong Kong on June 5 proved to be a very good door opener for this meeting. The day was, we think, a success. The contacts will be followed up during the autumn and in January a major joint event is being planned.
For more information about this event, please, contact Bengt Streijffert Bengt.Streijffert@gmail.com.
To sum it up. It is very obvious that there is a substantial -and bilateral – interest from sme:s in collaboration, investments, joint projects, etc. within the sphere of innovation, research, and development. Many, if not most, of all high tech sme:s are globally oriented from the start even if they start locally. The home market is too small for these highly specialized companies. East Asia is, as we know, one of the really big growth markets. Consequently, Hong Kong is in focus both as a center in itself and as a hub for East Asia (in some competition with Singapore), and functions as a starting point…
Needless to say, HKCCSE has an important role to play here as a mediator of knowledge and contacts and can act as a door opener.