It is a statement of a present issue or problem that you would like to timely tackle with a solution.

If your idea is related to one of our social categories (“Disability Inclusion”, “Education”, “Elderly Care”, “Waste Reduction”), and your plan is commercially viable and sustainable, your business idea will be qualified.

If you are interested in learning more about the 4 social categories, we recommend watching the social workshop video, where our 4 Social Partners provide introductions to and valuable insights about their respective social sectors.

Students are encouraged to use their native or their most confident language throughout the IdeaPOP! journey. They can use Cantonese, Mandarin, English or a mix of these, for verbal pitching, and Chinese or English in their visual aids, including but not limited to presentation deck or video.

Yes, each team must include 4 students from the same school.

As entrepreneurial projects require interdisciplinary collaboration, we welcome students studying any subject to participate. Subjects include, but are not limited to: Business, Accounting and Financial Studies (BAFS), Economics (Econ), Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Design and Applied Technology (D&T), and Technology and Living.

Yes

First, click the “Apply Now” button (application will start on Nov 1,2024) and fill in your team details on the form. Then, you will receive an email stating the requirements of your submission (format, maximum file size etc.) and a link for you to submit your video or presentation deck. After submitting the materials through the link, you will receive a confirmation email that indicates the completion of your application process.

No, you just need to submit either one of them to participate in the competition.

You cannot revise the submitted video/presentation deck directly on the system. However, you can click the submission link and submit a revised version before the submission deadline. We will take the latest version of the submission from each entering team.

All participating teams will be randomly assigned into 1 of 4 divisions, each division will be supervised by a corresponding group of mentors. You can make a total of 4 mentoring bookings in 10 weeks, with the same or different mentors within the pool of mentors in your division.

The Kick-start Day is a physical event for the Top 80 shortlisted teams to meet with mentors and representatives from our 4 social partners to have an exchange on the topics of the social categories, problem-solution fit, pitching skills etc so that teams would have the chance to directly learn from the subject matter experts. Details of the event will be provided via email to the Top 80 shortlisted teams.

Based on feedback from past participants, IdeaPOP! 2025 has adjusted the competition procedures by having a Quarter-final Pitch before the Semi-final Pitch. The top 40 teams from the Quarter-final Pitch will advance to the Semi-final Pitch, where they will present in person to industry experts. The top 10 teams from the Semi-final Pitch will move on to the Final Pitch to compete for the championship title.

All mentors will serve as judges for the Quarter-final Pitch.
For the Semi-final Pitch and Final Pitch, the teams will be evaluated by a judging panel comprising industry experts, investors, and startup experts, from local and global startup and enterprise communities.