gbafund | HKUST Greater Bay Area Youth Entrepreneurship Fund Program

Call for new cohort of IPIC Incubation - The HKUST Greater Bay Area Youth Entrepreneurship Fund

The Fund is supported by the HYAB Funding Scheme For Youth Entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area under the Youth Development Fund (YDF) of the Youth Development Commission (YDC) and Home and Youth Affairs Bureau. The fund under IPIC Incubation aims at driving, promoting, and supporting dedicated and qualified young members of the HKUST community, including students, faculty members, alumni and staff, to develop and realize their innovations and entrepreneurial success in Hong Kong SAR and other cities of the Greater Bay Area.

Eligibility

1. Applications are open to start-up teams of at least one HKUST members (full-time or part-time postgraduates or undergraduates, alumni or staff) are taking the role of Founder/ Co-founder with company shares who either:

plan to operate a start-up business in Hong Kong and/or in Mainland GBA cities; or
have an existing start-up project/ business that has not been in operation or has been operating for not more than 3 years at the time of application.

*Funded Start-ups must be registered businesses at the time of acceptance of Fund.

2. Founding team(Main applicant and core team members of each application) must be Young Entrepreneurship Applicants (YEAs) who meet the following criteria:

aged between 18 to 39;
are permanent residents of Hong Kong with valid HKIDs;
not bankrupt or subject to bankruptcy proceedings at the time of application;
have never been funded by the Entrepreneurship Matching Fund or first round of Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship in the GBA under the Youth Development Fund (YDF); and
not receiving or shall be receiving financial support from any other public or Government funding sources for the proposed project/ business.

A portion of the shares of a registered company can be held by individuals or entities other than those specified in sections 2.2a-e. Non-YEA members shall not own more than 20% of the startup's equity.

Selection Criteria

Business Viability (25%)	Business model, sustainability of business, value proposition, go-to-market strategy, competitive advantage
Team Composition & Strengths (20%)	Capability and expertise of team in managing the business and implementing the proposed plan, execution ability and commitment, individual qualifications and roles of core members, number of HKUST members
Innovation & Disruption to Industry (20%)	Technology involved, how disruptive is the proposed solution/ product/ service to the industry
Traction and Development Plan (20%)	Business scalability, short and long-term objectives and milestones, forecast and roadmap in Hong Kong and GBA cities
Social Value and Impact (15%)	Contribution to society at local and regional levels

Funding Amount & Disbursement

With contributions from the HYAB Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay and HKUST at a matching fund ratio of 4 to 1, this Fund grants each successful funded start-up team up to HKD $250,000. The funding amount granted is subject to the final funding budget plan approved by the vetting panel.

The funding will be disbursed by installments:

First installment (40% of the approved funding amount) will be disbursed upon successful application and acceptance of offer and agreement.
Second installment (40% of the approved funding amount) will be disbursed upon submission of all required documents endorsed by HKUST.
Final installment (20% of the approved funding amount) will be disbursed upon successful development of the start-up as planned and satisfactory submission of all required documents by summer 2027.

Key Expected Achievement and Milestones

The funded start-ups are expected to incorporate the following milestones in their Milestone Plan and achieve these throughout the proposed project/ business period:

Latest Completion Date (from the date of agreement signed)	Achievement
Within 6 months	Refine business plan by defining measurable expected outcomes Collect detailed user testing and market feedback Confirm the process and requirement of building product prototype
Within 9 months	Complete product development
Within 12 months	Complete business registration in Hong Kong and/or Mainland GBA cities
Within 24 months	Explore and gain insights into the business environment of Hong Kong and Mainland GBA cities Launch product for testing the market Start and sustain business operations(Physical or online shop)

Key Dates

Date	Item
19 May 2025	Open for Applications
~~15 Jun 2025~~ extended to 22 Jun 2025	Application Deadline
Mid of Jun 2025	Confirmation of shortlisted applicants
Early of Jul 2025	Panel Interview
Mid of Jul 2025	Result announcement
Jul 2025	Meeting with funded start-ups and collection of fund agreement

Application Deadline (Extended to 22 Jun 2025, 11:59pm HKT)

1. Please click here to read through the Application Guidelines including all details on funding scope, disbursement requirements, Intellectual Property, etc. before application.

2. Please complete the Online Application Form and submit all the required documents by 22 Jun 2025, 11:59pm HKT.

Documents required to enclose in the Online Application Form
- List of Team Members in EXCEL format (Template)
- HKUST Student / Staff ID Card or graduation certificate for proof of association with HKUST
- HKID Cards of ALL Team Members including the Main Applicant
- Pitch Deck in PPT format (max. 15 pages)
- BR, CI and NNC1 if registered company

Applications will only be considered when the online application form is completed with the necessary documents and submitted by the deadline mentioned above. Submissions through email or any other channel will not be accepted.