HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Telerik today announced the second iteration of the highly successful AcceleratorHK. Between now and April 15, AcceleratorHK is accepting applications from start-ups looking to participate in its fourteen week accelerator, focusing on hybrid mobile app development with HTML5. Please find the details to apply at http://acceleratorhk.com/. AcceleratorHK is sponsored by Telerik and is led by its Chief Strategy Officer and entrepreneur Stephen Forte, in conjunction with entrepreneur Paul Orlando.
After its initial accelerator, in which six companies participated, AcceleratorHK has opened a call for applications for a second fourteen week accelerator. The accelerator will take place in Hong Kong May 11 through August 16, 2013. “Hong Kong is a great place to do business and it is a growing technology hot-bed,” said Stephen Forte. “Moreover, the mobile market just continues to expand within that region – seven 3G/4G LTE providers and close to 200 percent mobile phone penetration. We are committed to being the leader in comprehensive mobile app development, which is why AcceleratorHK focuses on the ability to execute a software development strategy for mobile and desktop apps within such a strong marketplace.”
InvestHK, the Hong Kong Government’s agency responsible for business development in the territory is supportive of the program. Charles Ng, Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion of InvestHK, said, "Hong Kong offers an ideal platform for startups. InvestHK welcomes and offers support to entrepreneurs from around the world to easily set up and expand in our city. We are very excited to see a growing and vibrant startup community and would like to invite startup entrepreneurs to explore the tremendous opportunities the city offers as a base in Asia and China. Programs like AcceleratorHK helps attract talent to Hong Kong, and plays a very important role in helping grow our ecosystem."
The initial AcceleratorHK was held from November 2012-February 2013 with six participants - Taxiwise, PayAllies, SurroundApp, Dynamino, 100Village and GOnnect. During the fourteen week accelerator, participants learned valuable lessons surrounding target segments, incorporation procedure, advisory committees and gaining funding post-program. The companies were also able to test their ideas and get real-time feedback. The session culminated in a demo day in which the companies were able to present their business models.
“AcceleratorHK really helped PayAllies refine our offering and take the company to the next level,” said Carlos Rivera, Co-founder of PayAllies. “Hong Kong was a great place to launch our business, validate our assumptions and meet potential customers, mentors and investors. The amount of mobile activity in that region is just astounding.”
As part of this second AcceleratorHK, participants will receive an initial investment of $15,000. The fourteen week program offers co-working space in The Good Lab, weekly customer development programs and checkins, and 1:1 meetings with key mentors. The program is organized by Stephen Forte and Paul Orlando, two successful entrepreneurs, and is fully funded and supported by Telerik, the maker of Kendo UI and Icenium; tools that make cross platform mobile development easier.
AcceleratorHK will run from May 11 through August 16, 2013. There are no geographic restrictions, but strong technical, design and business skills by those who have made some progress via concept, prototype or existing service is required. For more information and to apply for AcceleratorHK, please go to http://acceleratorhk.com/.
About Telerik
Telerik is a market-leading provider of end-to-end solutions for application development, software testing, agile project management, reporting, and content management across all major development platforms. Telerik’s award-winning software development products enable enterprises and organizations of every size to generate tangible productivity gains, reduce time-to-market, and stay on time and under budget. With tens of thousands of users in more than 90 countries around the world, Telerik’s customers include numerous Fortune 2000 companies, academic institutions, governments, and non-profit organizations. For additional information about Telerik, please visit www.telerik.com or follow @telerik on Twitter.