When Cyberport, Hong Kong's incubator for digital technology entrepreneurship, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai Future Foundation back in February this year, it was the beginning of a long-term collaboration that encouraged tech companies in the two communities to expand into Hong Kong and Dubai. The MoU was signed by Simon Chan, Chairman of Cyberport, and H.E. Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation, in the presence of H.E. Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications and Deputy Managing Director of Dubai Future Foundation, as well as John Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. “As part of the MoU, Cyberport will facilitate Dubai start-ups with potential to land in Cyberport through our variety of entrepreneurship programmes, funding and landing support, joint events and seminars, while Cyberport community start-ups and technology companies will get funding and landing support in Dubai, ultimately facilitating knowledge exchange and collaboration for Web3 applications,” explains Chan. In a span of six months since its inception in January this year, Web3 Hub@Cyberport has attracted more than 100 Web3 companies. It has now grown into a world-class hub for Web3 start-ups with more than 180 Web3-related enterprises, spanning Web3 applications and content such as NFTs and metaverse; fintech including virtual asset trading platforms and decentralised finance; foundational services; and middleware such as blockchain development tools and data analytics. “Among the 190 companies, 80 per cent are local while 11 per cent are from mainland China and 9 per cent from overseas,” says Chan. “Founders come from the mainland and more than 15 countries and regions, including North America, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.”