The Nanjing Overseas Innovation Centre in London announced a new GO China programme to support UK hi-tech companies who have been unable to launch their China operations due to the country’s draconian Covid travel restrictions and quarantine requirements. The offer includes free market research, matchmaking
, company registration and local Chinese resources to help companies get started without ever setting foot in the country.
The announcement came during a recent GO China Roadshow event held at the China Britain Business Council (CBBC). “GO China is a response to the complaints from UK entrepreneurs shut out of China for over two years,” says Mark Hedley, Knowledge Economy Director at CBBC, “Nanjing listened, and now projects can finally get moving again.”
Before the roadshow got underway, Deputy Director Wu Quan of the Nanjing Xingang Hi-tech Industrial Park gave a keynote speech during which he explained, “GO China gives companies boots on the ground until they have a chance to hire and train a local team. Not only do companies receive intensive training and coaching to prepare for their China entry, but the most promising ones can also receive manpower to help them get started right away.”
Victor Kovalets, founder of the OKE Club for UK-China entrepreneurs in London also spoke at the event and emphasised that “despite a difficult period for UK-China relations, there is a tremendous amount of pent-up demand for new UK-China business ventures. In fact, we started OKE Club in the midst of the pandemic and it has gone from strength to strength.”
Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu province, which has a population larger than the UK with the highest per capita GDP of any province in China and an advanced hi-tech infrastructure. The Nanjing Overseas Centre was established to increase entrepreneurial exchanges between Nanjing and London andpartners with a network of incubators, accelerators, business parks, and industry associations from across the UK.
GO China has been designed as a 4-month programme in the UK, consisting of webinars, China business plan coaching, partner matchmaking, virtual delegations, and investor roadshows, followed by a 3-month programme in China, including temporary staff for project landing and a residential programme once Covid travel restrictions are lifted. The first GO China cohort of 10 companies started in February and will graduate in August.
One participant, Rick Chandler, Director of the Communications Management Association described his experience so far, “GO China is not only providing a lot of practical information but is giving me a roadmap, tools, and resources to implement my vision.” Applications for the second cohort will start in June.
Globaltech IP, Ltd., with offices in London and Nanjing, is the GO China delivery partner, supporting companies both in the UK and in China. Kristina Rayko, Globaltech IP Director in the UK highlighted that GO China is in fact a gateway to the entireYangtse River Delta region which includes cities like Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou, “this is China’s most progressive hi-tech region, and one of the most exciting and fastest growing tech clusters in the world right now.”
Comments