# Start-up Express

Start-up Express is an Asset Manager based in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** Wan Chai, Hong Kong
- **Region:** Asia
- **Address:** Wan Chai, Hong Kong
- **Founded:** 2018
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** portal.hktdc.com

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Start-up Express is a program of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, targeting start-ups with innovative and tech products or solutions. It provides opportunities for start-ups to learn, grow, and connect. The program has made three investments, including an investment in Kodifly in July 2023, and has one portfolio exit, Moongate, in June 2025.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- AI/ML
- Digital Health
- PropTech
- FinTech

## People

- Vincent HS Lo — Chairman, HKTDC
- Antony Leung — Judge and Mentor
- Victor Fung — Mentor and Advisor
- Neil Shen — Judge and Mentor
- Nicholas Tse — Business Partner, NiCubator

## Questions

### Is Start-up Express a venture capital fund?

No. Start-up Express is a startup accelerator and mentorship program operated by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC). It does not make direct equity investments from a committed fund. Winning startups receive exhibition space, business-matching services, and mentorship. However, individual judges — including Neil Shen of Sequoia Capital China and Antony Leung of Nan Fung Group — have independently evaluated participants for potential investment through their own firms.

### What does Start-up Express provide to winning companies?

Winners receive exhibition space at HKTDC trade fairs in Hong Kong and overseas, brand promotion support via Nicholas Tse's NiCubator, business-matching introductions to corporate partners and distributors, and access to the HKStartupSociety alumni network. The program is non-dilutive — it takes no equity.

### What is the relationship between HKTDC and Start-up Express?

Start-up Express is wholly a program of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, a statutory body established in 1966 to promote Hong Kong's trade. HKTDC funds the program's operations using trade-promotion resources, not investment capital. The accelerator serves as a pipeline for HKTDC's broader mission of connecting Hong Kong companies to global markets.

### Which sectors does Start-up Express target?

The program is sector-agnostic but has historically selected startups in enterprise software, AI/ML, digital health, prop-tech, and fintech. Past cohorts have featured companies building logistics platforms, diagnostics tools, and cross-border supply-chain software. It does not currently invest in deep-tech hardware or biotech requiring wet-lab infrastructure.

### Does Start-up Express participate in fund commitments?

No. As a trade-promotion accelerator, Start-up Express does not commit capital to external funds. Its value proposition is entirely non-capital: distribution, mentorship, and cross-border business development. The program does not manage a fund-of-funds or co-investment vehicle.

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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