In brief
Mobile app development offered young entrepreneurs a relatively accessible route to starting a business. The survey found that more than half of respondents were companies founded within 3 years by people under 30, while around 41% identified client app development as their main revenue source.
Smartphones have become an indispensable part of everyday life, and the wide variety of mobile apps deserves much of the credit. From instant messaging and social networking to dining guides and photo sharing, apps have enriched the user experience. Many popular apps already have more than a million users in Hong Kong, making them the new stars of the information technology industry. Quarterly smartphone shipments in mainland China can reach 90 million units, offering vast business opportunities. Is Hong Kong's industry ready to open the door to the mainland's mobile app market?
The first survey of Hong Kong's mobile app industry examined its business conditions. The findings showed that more than half of the companies surveyed had been established for no more than 3 years and were founded by people under 30. Youth has become a defining feature of the local smartphone app industry.
Dr Wu Han, Senior Consultant in the Hong Kong Productivity Council's Corporate Innovation Division, believes that the mobile app industry has relatively low barriers to entry, with initial investment often lower than that required for a physical shop. In particular, increasingly mature cloud services have given mobile app development a strong boost. Developers do not need to invest heavily in IT infrastructure such as servers, testing systems and data management. The relatively low risk makes it easier for young people to realise their entrepreneurial ambitions.
The survey found that 90% of the companies surveyed were small and medium-sized enterprises with 50 or fewer employees. Although most were small, nearly 40% reported annual revenue of HK$1 million to HK$5 million. Hong Kong companies also won the grand prize in each of the previous two editions of the Asia Smartphone Apps Contest, demonstrating that the local industry's technical capabilities were on a par with those of its peers.
According to Dr Wu, Hong Kong's mobile app development companies broadly fall into two categories. One focuses on developing apps for clients, which around 41% of the companies surveyed cited as their most important source of revenue. The other focuses on developing app products, which generally requires more resources and time. Known for their flexibility, Hong Kong companies are skilled at developing apps to meet clients' requirements, particularly apps designed for specific marketing campaigns, also known as “Campaign Apps”. Companies that develop apps as products are fewer in number, but that does not mean they lack quality; they can even reach international markets.
https://www.hkpc.org/zh-HK/industry-support-services/latest-information/5583-2015-03-09-14-18-13?template=hkpc_text