Zero to One : Network of Network, Network of Capital and A 5-Years Bet on Contrarian Truth
There shall be an idea, so important that it thrives like viral.
With network of 35+ City Partners across Asia and Africa, established 50+ institutional partners in Emerging Future Cities Network, 1,000+ alumni in Summit and Development Programs and 5 champion portfolios, the establishment of the name “Future City Summit” has not come easy at all.
From 2016 to 2019, the 4 years development marked the rapid growth and strategic accomplishment of the organisation, with the 11 founders from The University of Hong Kong, growing from a garage style development agency to now a 4-full time and 4-pro bono running operation. The engine of growth realises the words made in the first ever pitch: from a network to development partnership and venture growth.
The First Ideation: Five Year Planning For Future City Summit, back in 2016 . The first pitching deck.
The Later Founding Team and Advisors
Second batch of founder class for Future City Summit, what made us greater?
To bet on contrarian truth, the strategy has never been simple and ear-catching. The strategy of “Public Private Partnership by Youth, Emerging Future Cities Network, Labs, Rainmaker Ventures and Foundation Model” was deemed uneasy or impractical in the first place.
The continuous development against the popular opinions was largely time-consuming, with great sum of time taken for overseas team exploration, understanding the technicality, feasibility over the potential withdrawal of partnership in local network in emerging cities. Huge diversity in work culture and work deliverables lead to ultra-high risk of failure and mismatch of expectation and resources.
2018 became a year of turning point where the founders began to team up with more supportive Hong Kong based advisors with large input of knowledges, insights, structural strategies and network.
The completion of Future City Summit Annual Meet 2018 in Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Foshan has proved the network capacity and vision of agenda setting of the development agency.
The New Black: Public Private Partnership by Youth
Public Private Partnership by Youth(“PPP by Youth”) is an action-think-tank development program series devised to strengthen closer partnership and learning of emerging cities and their potential socio-economic development path.
The program is constructed with summit-style intensive case study, followed with roundtable and private roadshows of promising projects and businesses.
The established of domain-specific Emerging Future Cities Networks upon the program end leads to making of lab and hence the uptake of champion companies as portfolios, projecting the further development plans in the cities.
The initiative of Public Private Partnership by Youth grows viral. The further built Emerging Future Cities Network and City Partners extend to the further demand of development programs in 2nd / 3rd tier cities, and hence its establishment of local programs
Upcoming Emerging Cities to Land: Yogyakarta(Indonesia), Bandung(Indonesia), Phnom Penh(Cambodia), Karachi(Pakistan), Kuala Lumpur(Malaysia), New Delhi(India) and Ramallah(Palestine).
Network of Network: FCS Annual Meet
if asked whether Future City Summit would be founded again in 2016, it’s “yes”.
The garage-style development agency begins with Summit, hence the Summit convention is designed as the most expected home-coming occasion where all partners, City Partners reunite, and rejoin the stages, roundtables and private roadshows for deeper knowledge sharing and a chat on future trend in emerging Asia and Africa.
The Turning Milestone: Cities: Shaping Action through Emerging Young Leaders and an Intergenerational Conversation
Network of Capital: Rainmaker and Ventures
The Market Left Behind, Foundation Ownership and Capital for Purpose
Rainmaker Ventures is established in the end of 2019 to capture the champion companies and ventures in emerging cities in Asia and Africa with the exponential growing of network of Future City Summit. This completes the other half of the ecosystem of the development agency, venture capital, advisory and deals, capital for purpose.
The Ventures envisions businesses that can last for 50 years, and devises strategic growth partnership with equity-taking and funneling of profit resources(to Good City Foundation and Future City Summit).
The sustainability and resilience of the business profitability with impact are designed to incorporate the sustainability of Good City Foundation and Future City Summit.
PearlPay envisions a universal accessibility and acceptability of digital banking services with accurate financial means, especially underbanked and unbanked rural communities in emerging Southeast Asia.
Garuda Fund is established upon the leadership of PPP by Youth in Bali in January 2019, with the aim to invest and uplift the next champion businesses that matter in Indonesia.
1001Teras(PT Cahaya Properti Berjaya) with latest 3rd and 4th teras building of affordable housing, with the partnership of Bank Tabungan Negara(BTN), reaching 400 affordable units for the blue collars in Indonesia.
The venture is structured with the first family office(Yamani Family Office) incorporated with Rainmaker to reach and pave the first social unicorn in domain of affordable housing.
Jetschool(PT Pixelindo Media Nusantara) visions the universal digitisation of primary and secondary education system with cloud technologies.
Goodsam Technologies comes in with a vision for universal accessibility of health and technology with highly affordable wearable devices, incorporating with African design fashion.
The design and venture is founded by rising entrepreneur star in Tanzania, Mr. Isaya Yunge, “The Queens Young Leaders Award 2018” from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Forbes Africa 30 Under 30.
The venture teams up with local designers to create “Made in Africa” fashion brand and design sense to bring in sense of belonging of African wearable fashion to the emerging market.
Capital For Good: Social Business Youth Summit and a Joint Venture for Purpose
With the joint effort in the last PPP by Youth in Manila, the YY Future Cities Lab and Social Business Youth Summit in Manila opened an opportunity towards businesses for great.
Vision “Capital For Good” was established with the potential venture partnership among Good City Foundation and YY Goshti, targeting heavily global wicked issues such as Climate Change, Poverty, Financial Inclusion, Food Crisis and Waters.
Foreseeable timeline, Social Business Youth Summit 2020 would be hosted in Mainland China with the incorporation of larger network of emerging future cities and related industries, mapping out more social businesses that can last for 50 years.
5th Anniversary. Resurrection of Asia and Good City Foundation
“Good City Foundation” will be structured as the completion of second development of Future City Summit, marking the 5th year development of the organisation and ecosystem.
The coming 5th year of roadmap devises a comprehensive development program implementation in a spectrum of emerging cities in Asia, and aggressive deal pipelines with Rainmaker Ventures and active investing and growth structuring strategy with promising businesses.
By the year end of 2019, preparation of Future City Summit Annual Meet 2020 embarks, remaining the host city in Hong Kong and potentially Hangzhou,
with theme, Resurrection of Asia.
Partnership Inquiry: community@futurecitysummit.org
