Nation is a hotbed for innovation: experts
China will breed a new wave of innovators, industry insiders, investors and government officials said at the 2016 Asia Beat Xiamen, an international competition for startup projects that ran from Thursday through Saturday.
"China's industrial development once relied on labor-intensive sectors, but now must depend on innovation," said Cai Wensheng, chairman of Longling Capital, which focuses on investments in startups.
He said there is a boom in startups and investors because of the "massive number of active users, aggressive capital market and hard-working teams" in the country.
He noted two steps in China that led to the emergence of Internet businesses over the past decade - the initial copying of business models from the United States and the current rise of localized innovations that is doing a better job of addressing customer demands. He said in the future, more foreign companies will borrow ideas from China as it becomes a global leader in mobile Internet.
A growing number of products and services by Chinese startups have gained customers overseas, such as BeautyPlus, a smartphone camera app that has more than 13 million users in Japan.
Cai suggested three sectors that offer opportunities for startups: products that optimize daily tasks, along the lines of Uber; specialized tools that handle tasks simply, such as photography app Meitu; and transformations of traditional models, as done by smartphone maker Xiaomi.
"Young entrepreneurs in China today should work hard to explore the future ... to create products that will surprise the world," he said.
Li Zhu, co-founder of Innovation Angel Funds, suggested a "lab-to-market" model that called for the more efficient commercialization of innovations from universities and research institutions.
Bernard Moon, co-founder of SparkLabs Global Ventures in South Korea, said products from the world's startups are getting stronger and that the bar for financing is higher.
In Asia, he said, Chinese entrepreneurs are going global, Japan is waking up from its slumber, South Korea is maintaining its course, and Southeast Asia is "a land of promise".
He suggested startup teams seek multiple investors for seed money and focus on cash management and core products.
He said future investment focuses will include financial technologies, the Internet of Things, cybersecurity, food technology and e-commerce.
Lin Shengqun, deputy head of Xiamen's Jimei district, said the district has about 100,000 college teachers and students that are the backbone of innovation and entrepreneurship, adding that the local government will integrate industries with social development, provide financing platforms and improve infrastructure.
(China Daily 03/22/2016 page24)
