New global accelerator programme aims to support Hong Kong’s burgeoning startup ecosystem
HONG KONG, Oct. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Global communications company Infobip today announced the launch of its Infobip Startup Tribe programme in Hong Kong and the wider Asia Pacific (APAC) region. The accelerator programme, which offers home-grown startups an opportunity to utilize Infobip’s deep industry knowledge, expertise, and tools to fast-track their growth, was kicked-off with an APAC focused webinar, which saw participation from various startups and ecosystem players from across the region.
In a world where borders no longer pose a limit and growth is determined by online presence, Infobip wants to be the ideal partner that can support the digitalisation journey for startups. With this global programme, qualifying startups will be able to apply for substantial credit allowances on Infobip’s products and services worth up to $60,000 (HKD 467,000) that will enable them to grow their customer base through omnichannel communication.
Infobip will also provide hands-on support in the sales and product fields though its vast global teams. The Infobip Startup Tribe will have at their disposal the resources of Infobip’s 65+ global offices, wherever available, as well as an opporunitity to showcase and pitch their businesses at Infobip Shift – the largest developer event in Southeastern Europe. In addition, they will have direct access to advisor investors from the most reputable global and local Venture Capital funds and accelerators, among others.
Speaking at the webinar titled ‘Bringing Next-Gen Customer Engagement to Startups’, Nikola Pavesic, Director of Startup Ecosystem for Infobip, said: "After leading initiatives and being part of the industry for many years, I am looking forward to adding value to startups on a mission and help them fast-track their growth. This inaugural event marks our foray into connecting many notable and aspiring startups with creative aspirations that make up this thriving ecosystem in APAC. I’m really excited to be bringing Startup Tribe to APAC and I can’t wait to see how the community grows after leveraging on trusted accelerators like our expert council, extensive resources, and global networks."
Infobip’s Startup Tribe webinar also featured guest panelists including Vishal Harnal, Managing Partner of 500 Southeast Asia, one of the leading venture capital firms in the region; Michael Kim, Head of Google for Startups APAC; and Richard Ker, VP, Global Partnerships and Ecosystem Development of Aerodyne Group, a global drone-tech innovation leader from Malaysia.
During the panel session they discussed the opportunities for customer-centric solutions for startups and the many challenges and opportunities they have encountered.
Harnal spoke about APAC’s startup ecosystem advancement over the last seven years and why some of the future opportunities lie with customer engagement. He highlighted that over 30 startup unicorns now exist in the region, with household names such as Bukalapak, Carsome, and Grab – all of which are customer-centric at their core. He also shared how a strong communications support system is necessary if they want to stand out amongst the competitive crowd, especially in an ‘always on’ era. This includes delivering satisfactory customer experiences and streamlining operations for cost efficiency.
Apart from discussing the thriving startup ecosystem in APAC, the panelists also spoke about challenges that startups in the region have already faced. Kim said: "Many startups are currently not able to meet their partners face-to-face, which challenges them to find new innovative ways to go global and to have business growth abroad while staying within their country. In markets like Seoul and Tokyo, we are seeing founders grow their business exponentially within their country and many of them are actively looking to expand overseas, especially to Southeast Asia. Through our various Google for Startups programmes, we are working with startups to enhance their online interactions and strengthen their online sales techniques."
In an industry that has evolved beyond basic application programming interfaces (APIs) for messaging and voice capabilities since the pandemic began, Infobip – with the backing of its trusted accelerators and venture capitalists, makes for an ideal partner for startups. Specifically, those that want to build a strong communications foundation and provide better customer engagement and personalised experiences that can be tailored to more vertical markets. These ongoing efforts enabled Infobip to be recently ranked as a market leader in the Mobile Messaging space on the Juniper Research Competitor Leaderboard. This further strengthens Infobip’s position to help businesses build connected customer experiences across all stages of the customer journey at scale.
Learn more and apply to join the Infobip Startup Tribe by visiting https://startups.infobip.com/ and https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1651648/Factsheet__Infobip_Startup_Tribe.pdf.
About Infobip
Infobip is a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connected customer experiences across all stages of the customer journey at scale, with easy and contextualized interactions over customers’ preferred channels. Accessed through a single platform, Infobip’s omnichannel engagement, identity, user authentication, security and contact centre solutions help clients and partners overcome the complexity of consumer communications, grow their business, and increase loyalty – all in a fast, secure, and reliable way. With over a decade of industry experience, Infobip has expanded to include 65+ offices on six continents offering natively built technology with the capacity to reach over seven billion mobile devices and ‘things’ in 190+ countries connected to over 800 telecom networks. The company serves and partners with leading mobile operators, messaging apps, banks, social networks, tech companies, and aggregators.
