Pico Far East Holdings Limited (“Pico” or “the Pico Group”, HKEX: 752), today announced the formation of a strategic alliance between P3 Innovation, an innovative and disruptive strategic platform initiated by Pico and OurCrowd, a leading global equity crowdfunding platform and venture capital fund based in Israel.
P3 Innovation was founded in March 2016 and has already initiated two start-ups and is currently incubating a growing number of others through “P3 Space”, a start-up incubator focused on nurturing innovation in the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) industry in Shanghai and Hong Kong. OurCrowd, founded in February 2013, has raised over US$440 million and invested in over 110 start-ups over the past few years.
Through this alliance, innovative start-ups in P3 Innovation’s ecosystem will now have access to funding through OurCrowd’s crowdfunding platform, which has more than 20,000 accredited investors from over 100 countries. OurCrowd will also benefit, as P3 Innovation will serve as another source of prospective deals. Additionally, P3 Innovation will act as a “landing pad” for OurCrowd’s current portfolio of companies – which includes some of the top start-ups in Israel and the US – helping them with setup, commercialisation and lead generation in Asia and China by leveraging the Pico Group’s ample resources and well-established business network in the events, exhibitions and marketing industries.
Shaun Lim, Executive Director of P3 Innovation, said: “P3 Innovation is a result of our management’s unwavering commitment to build on the leadership position we have established over the past 50 years by using innovation to create new opportunities and enhance our business. This alliance with OurCrowd will open up even more opportunities that will let us connect with some of the best start-ups in the world and do what we do even better.”
Denes Ban, General Partner and Asia Head of OurCrowd, said: “We have already been looking at investment opportunities with Pico and P3 Innovation and are confident that this alliance will help further deepen our relationship. This represents another step forward for us in Asia and together we will empower scores of new entrepreneurs, matching them with global investors and mentor networks.”
As part of this collaboration, Denes Ban will sit on P3 Innovation’s Advisory Board which includes Lawrence Chia, Chairman of the Pico Group, and other experienced executives. In return, Shaun Lim will also serve as a Venture Partner of OurCrowd.
About P3 Innovation
P3 Innovation is an innovative and disruptive strategic platform founded by the Pico Group. In October 2016, P3 Innovation launched the first of its offerings, P3 Space, a start-up incubator focused on nurturing innovation in the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) industry. Located in Pico Creative Centre in Shanghai’s Jiading District, P3 Space offers 3,000 sq. m. of space for a variety of innovation-based start-ups focusing on a broad theme – “cultural, creative and technology”. As of 31 May 2017, P3 Space has already initiated two start-ups and is incubating 10 more. P3 Innovation’s second offering is E3, an O2O platform that matches exhibitors, designers and fabrication contractors in a unified digital space to provide an easy, economical and efficient exhibition stand design and production process.
About P3 Space start-up incubator: https://www.pico.com/en/work/specialties/p3-space-demo-day
About E3: http://www.e3-expo.com/
