Registration is now open for the 8th China (Shenzhen) Innovation & Entrepreneurship International Competition, dubbed as the “Entrepreneurship Olympics.”
Without nationality barriers, all overseas innovation and entrepreneurship projects are eligible to enter the competition.
With a prize pool of 9.42 million yuan (US$1.31 million), the competition’s first-place winner will receive up to 1.75 million yuan in prize money and start-up subsidies, according to the organizer, the local human resources and social security bureau.
In addition, a venture capital pool of 25 billion yuan has been set up by over 50 investment institutions to encourage outstanding projects to settle in the city.
The deadline for application is Sept 10. Between mid-September and the end of October, regional contests will be held across 12 countries at 13 sites in Tokyo, Melbourne, London, Paris, Munich, Milan, Barcelona, Eindhoven, Stockholm, Zurich, the San Francisco Bay Area’s Silicon Valley, Boston, and Toronto.
Winners of these regional contests will qualify to compete at the finals, which will take place in Shenzhen between November and December.
Competitors will compete in seven thematic areas — next-generation electronics, high-end equipment manufacturing, green and low carbon, new materials, biopharmaceuticals and health, digital and fashion, and the marine economy.
The competition aims to integrate innovation and entrepreneurial resources, assist overseas innovation and entrepreneurship projects in accessing Chinese high-tech industrial resources, open the Chinese market, and realize mutual benefits and results.
Since beginning in 2016, nearly 17,000 competitors from 89 countries have participated in the competition. Of the 551 projects that competed in the finals in previous years, 68 went on to register companies in Shenzhen. Eight have been designated as State-level high-tech enterprises.