THE NANJINGER | VOLUME 12 ISSUE 06 | APRIL 2022
Fancy Your Own Startup? Free Market Research for New Foreign Biz
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tarting a business has never been harder, and coming to China to do such these days is out of the question. Hence Nanjing is launching a new initiative that offers complimentary market research and other services for startup ideas during these testing times. The initiative got underway last month, it’s called Nanjing INC and simply put, it’s your eyes and ears on the ground to set up in Nanjing. So if you are thinking of investing in China, or setting up a business in China, such as a startup or a high-tech incubator, Nanjing INC stands by to assist projects to land in our fine city. And it’s free of charge. The non-profit, consulting-service platform seeking to attract international elements is a presentation of the Nanjing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, assisted by the Nanjing Foreign Affairs Service Association. Strategic partner for Nanjing INC is the China (Nanjing) AI Valley. While the initiative is primarily aimed at businesses in other countries, individuals based locally also stand to benefit, should their project qualify. After all, the market research provided by Nanjing INC may be just the thing needed to prove to an investor that your idea has merit.
So how shall Nanjing INC work? Each project selected shall be assigned a Project Execution Team, formed by students at Nanjing University’s School of Foreign Studies (SFS), who shall
carry out research according to the needs of the project, and write and translate a research report. Also on hand are no less than 15 seasoned business professionals who make up the Nanjing INC Advisory Board. Among them, past and present executives of Siemens, Intel, BSH, Deloitte and Cushman & Wakefield. They, together with representatives from well-known business associations, consulting and financial institutions, legal entities and international enterprises, shall provide the projects and each project team guidance on industrial research, technical appraisal and access to China. It is envisioned that qualifying projects shall fall into one of five categories; enterprises, talents, product suppliers, capital investors and event organisers. That said, those who suspect their project does not fit therein should not be put off from applying. In addition to the market research, projects selected stand also to receive additional benefits, dependent on their sector. Such may include access to the Qualified Foreign Limited Partner (QFLP) program; guides on how to get government support policies and grants; logistics and human resources support; as well as links to suppliers, potential customers, retailers and local venture capital. With the support of SFS, project applications may be submitted in seven languages; English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Korean. To find out more and to submit your project idea, visit www.nfasa.org.cn/nanjinginc 22
