With a history of over 2500 years, Suzhou Municipality boasts a beautiful landscape and cultural richness. Still, Suzhou is better known as one of the strongest economic powerhouses in China. Located in China's economic epicentre and next to Shanghai, the city is characterized by its large industrial parks, multiple ports, advanced manufacturing infrastructure, and sufficient public and private funding.
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This “WIN THE FUTURE” 2021 Venture Contest aims to provide international innovation teams with a stage to share their businesses with the Chinese audience, an opportunity to get expert feedback from Chinese business elites, and a chance to win the award to support their project development financially. At the same time, it can potentially help Suzhou to attract high-quality overseas innovation and entrepreneurship projects, as well as high-level talent teams to empower the city.
City of Suzhou
Pitch Your Project
Win The Award
Award Opportunities
1st Place
1 team
30k CNY funding/team
2nd
Place
2 teams
20k CNY funding/team
3rd
Place
3 teams
10k CNY funding/team
Additionally, the first awarded team can directly enter the interview process of Gusu Leading Talent Program. If the team passes the evaluation, it will be granted 1-4 million CNY non-equity funding.
Benefits for participation
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Experience with Chinese venture events
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Feedback from business elites in China
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Awareness in China, the 2nd largest market in the world
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Opportunity to gain potential Chinese partners
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Potential to win the awards
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Support resources when entering the Chinese market
Application Process
Deadline: May 10th 2021
Submission documents: Business Plan (PPT) + application form
Send the submission documents to the organizer’s email address: winthefuture@hohot.fi
Stage 1: Application
After the successful submission of the applications in Stage 1, the judges will select the top 10 teams to enter Stage 2.
The selection criteria are based on the industries of applied projects, the qualifications of the participating teams, and how well this project would match Suzhou’s competitive development.
Stage 2: Venture Contest and Virtual Q&A (10 selected teams)
Date: May 25th 2021
Submission document: Business Plan (Doc) and 6-min pitching video sent before May 21st 2021
Attend the virtual Q&A session on May 25th 2021
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Requirements on
The Application Teams
1.
The participating team does not have a registered company in China;
2.
The participating team must have at least one member with a background of studying outside China (with a Master’s Degree or higher);
3.
The participating team has the ownership of its products, technologies, and/or related patents, and there are no IP disputes;
4.
The team has a fair reputation in its origin country, no illegal records;
5.
Industries preferred:the new generation of information technology, modern communications, biomedicine, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, new materials, new energy, biotechnology and medicine, smart grid, service outsourcing, equipment manufacturing, optoelectronics, integrated circuits and software, energy conservation and environmental protection, digital economy, the new generation of retail, modern business and commerce, creative design, digital entertainment, bleisure travel, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does it cost to apply for this contest?
No, it’s completely free for the participants.
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2. I’m a sole innovator/entrepreneur, can I still apply as an individual?
Yes, you can apply. The number of team members is not taken into account in the evaluation process.
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3. I only have a business idea, not a registered business, can I still apply?
​Absolutely! Great ideas are the start of all the exciting journeys, and the contest welcomes innovative projects even at the idea phase.
However, to convince the judges that your idea is commercially promising, we'd suggest you to still develop your business plan a bit further before submitting the application. Business Model Canvas, for instance, is a great tool to help you further develop your ideas.
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4. None of our team members is from Finland, can we still apply?
Yes, you can apply. Great innovations are borderless, and all is done online.
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5. None of our team members has a Master’s Degree, can we still apply?
Please consider adding a member with a Master’s Degree in your application.
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6. What’s the language used in the application and venture contest?
English or Chinese.
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7. Are there any requirements on the Business Plan?
The Business Plan shall be submitted in the form of PowerPoint (PPT). The language used in the Business Plan shall be in English or Chinese.
The structure of the PPT is freestyle. However, if you are new to this, you can consider including some of the following information (not obligatory): project overview, team introduction, technology/product/service overview, competitive advantages, potential risks and solutions, business development and promotion, financial plan
Please feel free to be creative presenting your Business Plan.
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8. I still have other questions, how can I communicate with the organizer?
You can join our online Q&A sessions:
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Date and time: May 4th 2021 at 17:00 (GMT+3)
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Participation link: Click here to join the meeting (Microsoft Teams)
You can contact our support personnel:
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Tel:+358 44 036 0308 (Also available on Whatsapp)
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E-mail: winthefuture@hohot.fi
You can also leave your question in the message box at the bottom of the page.
Organizers
Hosting organizer
Venture Week for International Elites in Suzhou Settled Enterprises Alliance
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Executive organizer
Venture Week for International Elites in Suzhou Settled Enterprises Alliance, Gusu Department
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Suzhou Boshi Innovation Technology Transfer Co.,Ltd.
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Support organizer in Finland
Hohot Consulting Oy