Entrepreneurship has long been an important component of Hong Kong society, so it comes as a surprise that in recent years there seems to have been an erosion of this particular strength. According to Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Hong Kong & Shenzhen 2009, a joint report involving The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences, Hong Kong people were less inclined to start their own business than people in Shenzhen. In addition, only one-fifth of Hong Kong people expressed confidence in their ability and experience to start a new business, compared with one-third in 2006.

Fast forward to January of this year and a survey conducted by the YMCA of Hong Kong (and Guangzhou-Hong Kong-Macau Youth Study) revealed similar findings to the 2009 document, this time suggesting that young people in Hong Kong (aged between 18 and 35) had less enthusiasm to start their own business than their Guangzhou or Macao counterparts.

If the entrepreneurial spirit is indeed waning, is this due to increasing risk aversion among younger generations; greater pessimism brought about by rising youth unemployment - 11.6 percent during the third quarter of 2012; lack of support mechanisms; or a combination of these and other factors?

Despite the less than rosy picture painted, there are a number of role models from the local innovation and technology industry from which would-be entrepreneurs can draw inspiration.

iMusicTech Ltd, a specialist in interactive music technology, was named "Outstanding Incubator Client" in the Technology Category of the 2012 National Business Incubation Association Awards, making it the first company from Hong Kong to receive the accolade in the event's 20 year history.

Also proudly hoisting the Hong Kong flag is PSP Security, founded in 2007 when demand for facial recognition and intelligent video products began to take off. Proving its mettle, the company launched the world's first embedded infrared-based recognition device in 2009, and now operates R&D centers in the United States and Taiwan, along with a technical support center in Hong Kong.

Still another home-grown company worthy of applause is Sengital Ltd. Established in 2004, originally to capitalize on an emerging motion sensing products market, the R&D team that hailed from the Chinese University of Hong Kong has since developed technologies for wireless network communication and electronic certification applications. Their triumphs include DigiTouch, a new touch-screen technology that can transform the common TV into a touch-screen smart device. It subsequently won The 14th HKEIA Innovation & Technology Grand Award, along with the Gold Award in the Consumer Electronics category, in 2012.

The above three companies are all graduates of the Incu-Tech incubation program operated by Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC). Their achievements help demonstrate that when the conditions and institutional environment are right, entrepreneurs can realize their dreams. The Incu-App incubation program established by HKSTPC in January 2012 aims to create an environment for helping still more entrepreneurs, specifically those seeking to enter the thriving mobile and web applications industry. An increase in the already encouraging 82 applications received in the inaugural year of the intensive 18-month programme to 129 applications this year, reflecting a 60 percent jump in enrolment, proves that Incu-App has been able to tap pent up demand. More importantly, it also suggests that entrepreneurship within the context of innovation and technology is far from extinguished.

If entrepreneurship is to be truly nurtured, then possible remedial actions would include those recommended by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Hong Kong & Shenzhen 2009, such as educational reform so that young generations are instilled with a sense of creativity and entrepreneurship; establishing all-encompassing government policies and programs specifically catering for entrepreneurs; and encouraging the financial community, with coordination from the government, to provide financing options that start-ups and entrepreneurs can realistically access.

Entrepreneurship in its many guises must be fostered as it represents the backbone of Hong Kong's economic development. What is more, it enables people of all generations to look towards the future with optimism, a perspective that is of immeasurable value.

The author is chairman of Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation.

(HK Edition 06/29/2013 page6)