No cash, no equity: Blueprint is a no-strings-attached accelerator in Hong Kong for B2B startups

A swanky new accelerator and co-working space just opened up shop in Hong Kong, and it aims to carve out a place for business-to-business (B2B) startups.

Launched two weeks ago, Blueprint‘s first batch of 11 startups pay neither fees nor equity to join the six-month program. They get to work at a 10,000 square foot space free of charge, and there’s another 10,000 square foot on the floor below where other startups can set up shop for HKD 2,000 (US$258) per seat per month.

Blueprint’s benefactor is Swire Properties, which owns the building where the space is housed in downtown Hong Kong. TaiKoo Place is a business district that’s also home to major tech firms’ regional headquarters, like IBM and Facebook.

Swire is a huge corporation, with many big businesses under its umbrella. The co-working space includes recycled furniture from other Swire companies, including a shipping container that serves as a meeting room from Hong Kong United Dockyards and airplane seats repurposed as lounge chairs in the cafe area from Cathay Pacific Airways.

Blueprint promises to be "an accelerator with no strings attached." So what does Swire get out of it? While two floors of the Cornwall House skyscraper are just a drop in the bucket for Swire, this is not philanthropy. Even though the startups – chosen from over 150 applications – have no obligation to give Swire anything, Swire stands to gain in a more indirect way in the long run.

"It benefits us to be the tech hub in Hong Kong," says Swire spokesperson Michelle Buultjens. Swire Properties’ core revenue generator is leasing property to businesses. By promoting B2B companies, businesses grow and rent more office space. Some Swire companies could adopt the technologies now being built by Blueprint startups, bringing innovative concepts back into the company.

As a property company, startups also present Swire with an emerging opportunity for growth. Blueprint serves as a testbed for more co-working space in the future.