The starting point for a sustainable partnership: Austria – Hong Kong/Greater Bay EdTech Exchange

Austria and Hong Kong are both ideal entry markets in their respective regions for the latest educational technologies due to their size and rapidly growing EdTech ecosystems. What could be more obvious than to strengthen the connection to the EdTech ecosystem in Hong Kong?

And so 30 August 2021 marks the start of the EdTech dialogue between Austria and Hong Kong. EdTech Austria in partnership with Advantage Austria Hong Kong, InvestHK, Esperanza and Cyberport invited EdTech innovators, investors and users from Austria and Hong Kong to learn from each other and network virtually.

Hong Kong as a gateway to Asia

Digital learning goes beyond schools – it also affects universities, businesses and adult education. People need to continuously educate themselves in the fast-paced 21st century, and educational technologies can help them do so. “Both Austria and Hong Kong are ideal touchstones and gateways to the larger European and Asian markets respectively. EdTechs can start there first, gain insights, experiment and then scale to other markets,” says Hannes Aichmayr, project manager of EdTech Austria.

First, EdTech Austria, InvestHK and Esparanza gave an overview of the local EdTech sectors. For example, some participants were surprised to hear that the first European EdTech unicorn comes from Austria. GoStudent, the Vienna-based EdTech scaleup, recently closed a successful funding round and is now on its way to becoming Europe’s leading EdTech company. Austria is also home to nearly 100 other EdTech startups and some of them are already active in Asian markets.

InvestHK and Esparanza particularly recommended that Austrian EdTechs use Hong Kong to enter the entire Greater Bay Area, including major cities in South China and Macau. Specifically, international EdTechs can still apply until 7 September 2021 for the Edventure Global Business Accelerator Fellowship offered by Esperanza and Cyberport to build a network and enter the Asian market.

Austria – Hong Kong Startup Pitches

Afterwards, three EdTech start-ups each from Austria and Hong Kong presented their exciting applications. Artivive is already active in Asia with its augmented reality solution for connecting analogue and digital art. The same applies to the robotics kits from Robo Wunderkind, which teach children between the ages of five and twelve how to code in a playful way. And the third Austrian start-up in the group, MeetFox, an all-in-one solution for the simple handling of appointments, is currently already expanding to Asia.

From Hong Kong, the companies AESIR, Mandarin Matrix and Xccelerate presented their edtech solution. AESIR offers children with special needs innovative augmented and virtual reality-based games that teach the school material in an innovative way. Mandarin Matrix has developed its own solution for learning and practising Mandarin for non-native speakers, catering to the growing interest in the language worldwide. Xccelerate, on the other hand, develops customised data science education and training programmes for companies.

At the end of the event, the participants had the opportunity to ask questions to the startups and investors from Austria and Hong Kong gave valuable feedback to the EdTechs.

We are already looking forward to further exchanges and upcoming joint events!