Sustainable Start-Up Ecosystems in Terms of Capital Investment and Other Business Opportunities for Corporate Involvement – A Comparative Analysis of Hong Kong and Shenzhen

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Start-ups play one of the most significant roles in global economic development. The business environment or the business ecosystem is well-known in entrepreneurship. A start-up’s success level is positively correlated with the environment in which it operates. One of the supporting factors in the start-up ecosystems is corporations, which try to connect with start-up companies using corporate acceleration programs. Another one is a higher engagement of educational institutions within the start-up environment. The study is a comparative analysis of start-up ecosystems in Shenzhen and Hong Kong from a corporate initiative perspective. The study applied a triangulated approach, synergizing primary data from interviews with relevant start-up ecosystem stakeholders and secondary data to further examine and support the initial findings. The results identified and compared the development levels of the Hong Kong and Shenzhen start-up ecosystems and were sufficient to create recommendations and best practices for start-ups and corporates interested in the respective areas. The findings suggest that Shenzhen’s start-up ecosystem is more attractive for corporations than Hong Kong’s within the context of innovation, technology, and talent. Hong Kong will first maintain its role as a business hub and as an international asset management center and, secondly, promote the development of technologies and innovation to increase its global competitiveness. The Outline Plan positions Shenzhen as a leading innovation hub within the broader area aiming to increase the city’s level of internationalization.