HSBC Private Banking revisits Hong Kong with the third and final installment of the digital summit, FoundHER, building on HSBC’s wider commitment to support female entrepreneurs. Running from 16-19 November in partnership with AllBright, the event follows the successful series of FoundHER Singapore and New York summits which took place in September and October this year.
HSBC’s ‘She’s the Business’ research found that female entrepreneurs in Hong Kong (68%) are the most likely to be denied funding following their investment pitches, 18% higher than the global average. It took on average 9.7 months for them to raise capital, the longest time among their peers in Asia.
AllBright’s recent global survey found that in the COVID-19 era, one in three surveyed women in Hong Kong have plans to launch a business (compared to 1 in 4 in the UK and Australia), with a quarter already doing so. In Hong Kong, 31% cite Fashion as their sector of choice, other leading sectors include Health & Wellbeing and Tech.
These insights spurred the creation of FoundHER, established with the objective of providing female entrepreneurs with practical tools, master classes, and valuable connections to strengthen confidence to launch businesses, scale-up, and succeed.
The week-long series will bring together ambitious female entrepreneurs from Hong Kong to share and learn from AllBright and HSBC Private Banking’s vast networks. From panel discussions with investors, insights from sector experts, and practical advice from founders who have successfully scaled and pivoted in the face of adversity, this 4-day summit will bestow local female founders with valuable lessons and toolkits to grow their business.
Siew Meng Tan, Regional Head HSBC Private Banking, Asia Pacific, said, “In the face of an extremely challenging capital raising environment for female entrepreneurs in Hong Kong, HSBC Private Banking recognises the need to assist and equip women further in their journey to secure funds and access the right networks. We believe that FoundHER’s series of events can connect female entrepreneurs with opportunities, and also strengthen confidence in the female entrepreneur community, so that they can have an equal shot at success.”
“The current challenges for female entrepreneurs are countless, but our community has shown that they are as resilient as ever. Although COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting women’s careers and the growth plans of female entrepreneurs around the world, many women are still planning to set up a business post-pandemic.” said Debbie Wosskow OBE, co-founder of AllBright. She adds, “With the launch of FoundHER, we aim to equip Hong Kong’s female business community with the tools they need to take their businesses to the next level.”
AllBright has worked with HSBC Private Banking to analyse and evaluate the specific needs of female entrepreneurs in Hong Kong, applying findings from the ‘She’s the Business’ study to formulate the summit’s agenda and content. Key findings include:
- Female entrepreneurs in Hong Kong experienced more negative gender bias in terms of raising capital, compared not only with male entrepreneurs in town, but also among other Asian markets. While it takes an average of 9.7 months for female entrepreneurs in Hong Kong to raise capital, it only requires 8.8 months for male entrepreneurs to do so. This figure also falls behind peers in Asia, such as Singapore at 9.1 months and mainland China at 7.8 months.
- Encouragingly, the difference between male and female entrepreneurs in Hong Kong who secured 61% or more of their target investment is only 2% in favour of males, the least among all other researched areas, except the UAE. However, the actual percentage of it (29%), while on par with USA and Singapore, still falls significantly behind the UAE (45%) and mainland China (40%).
- Although female entrepreneurs in Hong Kong invested less of their own money than their male counterparts, they still contributed over HKD1,200,000 on average, the second largest amount after mainland China.
To challenge these statistics and celebrate the ambitions of female founders in Hong Kong, FoundHER will provide a unique opportunity to boost skills, confidence and connections. Guests will hear inspiring stories from those who have built and sold successful businesses, take part in workshops designed to get them investment-ready, and conclude with a live Virtual Pitch Day on Thursday.
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