GEW China continues to grow under the leadership of the official host organization, the Shanghai Technology Entrepreneurship Foundation for Graduates (EFG). It has led the GEW movement there since 2007 and has grown it beyond Shanghai to now reach 17 provinces, 123 cities and more than 160 colleges and universities across the country. GEW China is supported by over 120 media partners and has managed to attract 150,000 participants.
EFG is China’s first not-for-profit public foundation dedicated to promoting entrepreneurial culture, advancing entrepreneurial practices and encouraging graduate entrepreneurship chaired by Madam Yan Junqi, a scientist and the vice chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress. As of September 30, 2014, EFG has handled a total of 3758 entrepreneurship program applications and subsidized 994 of those amounting to an investment of 187 million RMB.
As China shifts away from relying on state-owned enterprises to drive economic growth and firmly establishes itself as a technology powerhouse, GEW China’s role becomes even more significant. According to a recent Wired article, “China is home to four of the world’s ten largest internet and technology companies – Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent, and Xiaomi. What’s even more impressive is that three of those four broke into the global top ten since 2013.”
In past years, there has been a large number of Chinese Government officials involved in GEW China, including the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China and the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government. In 2013, President Xi Jinping even recognized EFG’s successful GEW campaign with a personal letter of congratulations. This high-level of government participation in GEW suggests that China’s leaders see entrepreneurship as the future engine of economic growth. The China Association for Promoting Democracy, one of the eight legally recognized political parties in China is also amongst the guiding units for the GEW China campaign.
EFG collaborates with more than 50 partners each year and is currently establishing five new branches in different provinces around China. GEW China 2014 has the ambitious goal of launching synchronized events across the country through each of its branches.
This year, EFG has launched an innovative method for recruiting partners and sponsors to organize GEW events: crowdfunding. Eileen Wu from EGF, who is behind this inspiring initiative, explained that it will help the campaign create an entrepreneurial carnival for GEW.
Another noteworthy example from the GEW China campaign is their emphasis on interaction and communication amongst the GEW participants throughout events. These events seek to help entrepreneurs find funders and mentors through a custom-made GEW China app and WeChat, a very popular mobile social network in China, where EFG has 30,000 active followers. The venue chosen for GEW 2014, the Shanghai Pudong Expo, was chosen specifically for its capacity to provide space both for open communication and private areas for one-to-one discussions and the aim is to create an atmosphere that encourages information exchange and sharing amongst the participants. This atmosphere will be further facilitated with the aid of a custom-designed information-sharing platform allowing all the participants to freely access resources and publish and share information.
The two flagship events for GEW 2014 in China are the Angel and Early-Stage Investment Summit and the Forum on New Forms of Entrepreneurial Services. The Angel and Early-Stage Investment Summit will feature the release of the Angel Investment Report as well as the launch of the Angel Investment Guide Fund. Funding remains one of the major challenges for entrepreneurs in China.
Cyberport, a member of the global Startup Nations network, is the principal partner of EFG for GEW China since 2013. Cyberport is a creative digital community with a cluster of technology and digital content tenants, managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company and owned by the Hong Kong SAR Government.
This year’s GEW China campaign in Hong Kong features a jam-packed agenda full of impressive events and initiatives. The flagship local event for Hong Kong is called Cyberport Start-Up Ignite @ Global Entrepreneurship Week China organized by Cyberport and the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) to take place on November 18, 2014. Guests of honor for the Opening Ceremony include Dave McClure, founding partner of 500 Startups as well as Jeff Hoffman, GEW board member.
The Opening Day of GEW China in Hong Kong will also feature the official launch of OGCIO’s portal “iStartup@hk”, an online and offline platform serving as a one stop shop for tech startups, where they can market themselves and look for mentors and funding. Over 100 startups are registered to showcase their projects in video format with the iStartup@hk platform. Participants will vote for their favorite startup via onsite voting platform powered by one of the Cyberport incubatees, EventXtra.
With less than 50 days to GEW, we encourage all players in China's national ecosystem to take part in this celebration of entrepreneurship. For further information please visit the GEW China website and contact EFG.