Work on startup city underway

Action plan sets out improvements to boost entrepreneurial environment, Li Fusheng, Lu Zhaoxin and Zhang Ye report.

Nantong in Jiangsu province is planning to build itself into one of the most popular destinations in the Yangtze River Delta region for startup businesses, according to a plan released by the city government.

The action plan is designed to encourage entrepreneurship, improve financing and service for startups and help companies grow their business, said Li Jiping, head of the city’s bureau of science and technology.

Li said promoting innovation and entrepreneurship is a national strategy to boost development and to offer a sound environment to unleash creativity.

According to the program, Nantong will have about 2,000 tech startups, 50 tech companies with solid development and 10 industrial clusters within five years.

The city plans to attract another 30,000 entrepreneurial and innovative personnel by 2020 and offer at least 50 platforms and 100,000 office spaces to help turn their business ideas into reality.

The program also covers financing, with venture capital and capital from angel investors planned to reach 20 billion yuan ($3.22 billion) within the same timeframe. The plan also encourages new fundraising forms, including equity funding, to solve financial problems that confront most startups.

The city government called on heads of relevant departments to work together on policies about startup businesses to offer them timely, accurate and complete information.

Nantong University graduates pose for their graduation photo. Many young people have started up their own businesses. [Xu Peiqin for China Daily]

Local authorities will also organize 1,000 salons and speeches as well as competitions to stimulate entrepreneurship, according to the plan.

Many young people in Nantong have already embarked on the path of starting up their own businesses.

Yuan Jiaxian, who graduated from Nantong University in 2013, is running a fruit distribution store with her friends.

The store has about 2,000 customers and generates daily revenue of up to 20,000 yuan.

In addition to Yuan’s store, another 30-plus startups are blooming in the science park at Nantong University, the first cluster of its kind in the city for young entrepreneurs.

Built in 2009, the park was named as a provincial demonstration base for entrepreneurs and a national science park.

The park will be a major powerhouse for entrepreneurship in Nantong, according to the city action plan. Nantong also plans to make the most of high-tech parks and science incubators in the city, with each of them focusing on developing companies in one or two industries.

“An entrepreneurial park should be in accordance with local economic and industrial features and such a park will be vigorous,” said Shen Fenglei, deputy chief of the Nantong bureau of science and technology and head of the Nantong Research Institute of Industrial Technology.

Shen said the park is an open, convenient and cost-efficient platform that offers a series of services to startups and would-be startups.

One highlight of the park is Lingyi Café, a popular hangout for people to share ideas and seek partners. There are also training rooms and conference rooms in the café.

The park also offers data centers, public technological centers, IPO labs and legal services.

Shen said the park is planning to hold training sessions and contests to improve creativity.

The park is also helping startups grow their businesses. In 2014, Wu Yingui established a videography company that specializes in shooting films of wedding ceremonies and promotional videos.

“It is running well but is difficult to grow larger in the short term due to financing and other problems,” said Wu.

Shen said his research institute is ready to offer a hand to young entrepreneurs like Wu.

He said it has come up with a series of favorable policies, including cutting office rent and tax exemptions, for qualified companies. It is also offering financial aid to those companies through venture capital.

Contact the writers through lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn