The annual Manchester Innovation Award was given to 27-year old
Chen Jiong for his fish skin gelatin business plan.
Chen's entry was selected from more than 100 commercially viable
proposals submitted by individual and teams of Chinese from around
the world.
"My project aims to maximize resource utilization and create
modern fish byproducts using a trash to cash logic," explained
Chen.
"I just tried to make an existing product more mature for the
market."
Chen's proposal involved extracting gelatin from fish and
utilizing it in a variety of food products.
The young entrepreneur entered the fish byproduct industry just
three years ago when he began working at one of his family's
company in Manila, Philippines.
His award was sponsored by the Manchester Business School (MBS)
Worldwide and chosen by a panel of leading professors,
entrepreneurs and MBS alumni representatives.
"We look for ideas that will have a positive impact on society,
as the mission of MBS is to be transformative," said MBS Dean
Michael Luger.
"Chen's business plan is both environmentally sound and
potentially profitable at very competitive costs. He presents a
product the world needs."
As a first-prize winner, Chen was flown to the University of
Manchester to discuss his proposal with MBS scholars and
representatives from the Manchester Enterprise Center.
"I appreciated the chance to communicate with top MBS
professors, and I definitely will benefit from their advice. I plan
to move to Vietnam for factory setup and market expansion," said
Chen.
In the past years, the Manchester Innovation competition was
open to those from selected Asian countries and regions. This is
the first time the contest has been restricted to Chinese
citizens.
"We noticed that entrants from China were much more proactive
and imaginative in their ideas than participants from other
countries," said Nigel Banister, chief global officer of Manchester
Business School.
Luger agreed, noting he believed Chinese were more passionate
about running their own businesses.
"China has an entrepreneurial spirit and a great amount of
ambitious young people," he said.
Source:China Daily
