Entrepreneurship competition opens in Nanshan

Guests jointly launch the entrepreneurship contest in Shenzhen’s Nanshan district. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

This year’s entrepreneurship contest in Shenzhen’s Nanshan district was recently unveiled to select high potential placements for venture capital.

The annual event, initiated by the local government and Shenzhen Municipal Science and Technology Innovation Committee, aims to promote the integration of all kinds of innovation resources and create the best entrepreneurship ecosystem in the district.

A number of unicorns and newly listed companies such as DJI Innovation and Orbbec emerged from the competition, which has become a sample of China’s supply-side reform in technological service.

This year’s game has adjusted its format. A dual meet will be added in the final stage while the traditional road show will be retained in the former rounds. Teamwork and service are expected to be prioritized throughout the whole process.

The event is divided into eight industrial sectors reflecting the district’s characteristics, namely internet and mobile internet, 5G applications, biomedicine, advanced manufacturing, IC and intelligent sensing, cultural technology, artificial intelligence, big data and blockchains.

Since its inception in 2008, the contest has more and more strongly attracted innovation-driven companies and maker teams at home and abroad and its influence and coverage have expanded year by year.

In the past dozen years, a total of 19,587 innovative projects have been registered (including 3,301 overseas projects), and all of the 698 award-winners have settled in the district.

Meanwhile, the event has drawn investments exceeding 4.2 billion yuan ($593.63 million) for more than 350 projects, contributing more than 20 billion yuan to the district’s GDP.

Nanshan strives to cultivate itself into a world-class innovative hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, with its advantages displayed in brand demonstration, resource docking, talent introduction and enterprise services.