Short answer
The BUD Fund is the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales, administered by the Trade and Industry Department. It supports Hong Kong enterprises developing covered markets through branding, upgrading and restructuring, and sales promotion. From 15 June 2026 official coverage stands at 48 economies, and government has stated more targeted support for BUD projects involving AI elements. Under the existing official position the cumulative ceiling is HK$7,000,000 with up to 70 approved projects per enterprise; Easy BUD carries a HK$150,000 ceiling from 15 June 2026; and E-commerce Easy allows HK$1,000,000 within the cumulative ceiling for e-commerce projects in Mainland China and ten ASEAN markets. Note carefully: simply buying AI software or arranging training does not automatically qualify — project scope, market objective, expenditure categories and the current guide govern, and approval rests with the fund.
What BUD is, and what B, U and D stand for
Definition: the BUD Fund is the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales. B is for branding, U for upgrading and restructuring, and D for domestic sales. The fund is administered by the Trade and Industry Department, with a project support page also maintained by HKPC.
Note the name: the frequently seen “BOD Fund” is a typo. The official name is BUD, and official material should be searched under BUD.
Covered markets and AI elements
From 15 June 2026 official coverage stands at 48 economies, and government has stated more targeted support for BUD projects involving AI elements (source: smefund.tid.gov.hk).
Read that carefully: “more targeted support” is a statement of policy direction, not an approval commitment for any AI project. A project must still satisfy the fund's general requirements on target market, scope and expenditure.
Ceilings, project counts and the two simplified tracks
Under the existing official position, the cumulative ceiling per enterprise is HK$7,000,000 with up to 70 approved projects (source: smefund.tid.gov.hk).
Easy BUD is a simplified track with a HK$150,000 ceiling from 15 June 2026. E-commerce Easy allows HK$1,000,000 within the cumulative ceiling for e-commerce projects in Mainland China and ten ASEAN markets (source: smefund.tid.gov.hk).
The practical implication: small, tightly defined projects often suit the simplified tracks, while larger upgrading projects need a fuller project plan and expenditure rationale.
Why “buy AI and get funding” is wrong
BUD assesses a project: what market objective it pursues, in which covered market, through what activities, and across which expenditure categories. An AI tool can sit inside a project, but the tool is not the project.
Submitting an AI software quotation or a training quotation as if it were the project usually fails to explain the link between market objective and outcome. The sounder approach is to write the commercial purpose first, then state what work AI performs inside it.
In every case, whether expenditure is accepted and whether the project is approved is decided by the fund under its current guide. This page does not assess any company's eligibility.
How to define a project scope that can be described clearly
In our consulting work, a scope that can be described clearly usually covers: target market and customer segments, current process and pain points, the capability to be introduced (enquiry triage, demand forecasting, content localisation), the internal roles accountable, a timeline, and measurable operating indicators.
None of that is funding-specific — it is ordinary project discipline. But it is the starting point for explaining a project to any third party, including a fund.
If you want the scope written down first, an AI transformation strategy and readiness assessment is a practical starting point, or contact us to talk through the outline.
Self-check before reading the official guide
- Whether the enterprise has substantive business operations in Hong Kong.
- Whether the project's target market is within official coverage (currently 48 economies from 15 June 2026).
- Whether the project is branding, upgrading and restructuring, sales promotion, or more than one of these.
- Whether the project suits the Easy BUD or E-commerce Easy simplified track.
- How much cumulative funding and how many approved projects have already been used.
- Whether expenditure categories map to project activities and outcomes.
- Whether the project plan explains the commercial purpose without relying on technical jargon.
Limitations
- This page is general information only. It is not government, financial or legal advice.
- Smark Global is not the administrator of any funding scheme and does not represent any government department or scheme secretariat.
- Scheme terms, scope, amounts and covered markets can change. Always rely on the latest official guide published by the administrator.
- Eligibility, acceptance of expenditure and the final approval decision rest solely with the relevant authority or scheme administrator.
- Information on this page was last checked on 13 September 2026.
Official sources
- Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (BUD Fund), Trade and Industry Department https://www.smefund.tid.gov.hk/tc_chi/bud/bud_home.html
- BUD Fund project support, HKPC https://www.bud.hkpc.org/
Official information last checked: 13 September 2026
Source: Trade and Industry Department BUD Fund official site https://www.smefund.tid.gov.hk/tc_chi/bud/bud_home.html (information last checked: 13 September 2026) · HKPC BUD Fund project support https://www.bud.hkpc.org/
Last updated: 2026-09-13（first published: 2026-09-13）
