Technology Voucher News TVP News｜Anti-epidemic Fund｜D-Biz Long Distance Business

Through the second round of funding from the Anti-epidemic Fund, the government launched a 500 million Hong Kong dollar D-Biz (Distance Business Programme) program, allowing applicant companies to receive full subsidies. It further increased to 1.5 billion Hong Kong dollars at the end of the month. However, as of July 8, D-Biz had only approved 2,121 applications, and the processing period far exceeded the 10-day target, which took more than a month.

Some D-Biz suppliers said that the criteria for the screening plan are not clear, and the difference between the approved amount and the expected amount is large. Customers would rather apply for existing technology vouchers. Although the application time is longer, at least the amount of funding will not be too large. Great drop.

The Director of the Bureau of Innovation and Technology, Alfred Sit, explained that the number of applications exceeded expectations and has already sent additional staff to handle applications. The Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) aims to complete 150,000 applications by the end of June to the end of August.

The average approved amount of HK,000 in a single application is far from the full amount of HK0,000

The D-Biz program, which started on May 18, was well received, and the initial threshold of HK0 million was raised to HK.5 billion on June 26. Before the increase, there had been nearly 15,000 over-applications, which is four times the expected 3,000 applications. The Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) revealed that as of 6 pm on July 8, a total of 15,426 D-Biz applications have been processed, of which 2,121 have been approved. The total amount of funds is more than 86 million Hong Kong dollars, about 40,000 Hong Kong dollars per case, which is far from the total amount of 100,000 Hong Kong dollars.

Overwhelming response to applications The 10-day approval period has changed to one month

When the government first announced the D-Biz plan, companies can apply for up to three projects, each with a maximum funding of 100,000 Hong Kong dollars. If the funding exceeds 30,000 Hong Kong dollars, an independent review can be conducted. An employee of a D-Biz service provider pointed out that the subsidy should be paid in full, "in theory, this is a full subsidy program, so it should be easy."

On the first day of the D-Biz program, his company submitted more than 10 applications for the applicant companies, but only one application was approved for the entire month as of June 20. So far, there are only two approved applications, namely, online store development and customer relationship management, totaling 90,000 Hong Kong dollars and 80,000 Hong Kong dollars respectively, of which 32% of the applications received a grant of 52,000 Hong Kong dollars.

Insufficient funding for the D-Biz project

The company’s partners said that in the first week, they provided a large number of consultations for clients who wish to apply for a full grant of HK0,000. “10 of them just want to get a quote. So far, there is actually no business.”

She explained that after the project is approved, 30% of the funds approved first will be issued, and the remaining 70% will be allocated after the project is completed. "In order to cooperate with the application for D-Biz funding, the company specially changed the technology plan to the same price. But in the end, if the government thinks this is not the same plan, then we must discuss with the customer." She believes that the plan will not help small businesses transform. , Because most customers will not cover investment projects out of their own pockets. "Of course, they will make the first decision to transform because they see HK0,000."

In response to queries, the Innovation and Technology Bureau (ITC) stated that the review time for each application depends on factors such as the completeness and appropriateness of the information submitted by the applicant and the technical considerations of the project. "I cannot say that out of 160 applications, about 86% (138) accepted the approved proposal, 10 applications took time to consider, and 12 (7.5%) withdrew from the program."