Zhang Yang

    nicolezyyy@163.com

    FOR Parkinson’s disease patients using a spoon can be a struggle — shaking hands make it difficult to eat without help. One Shenzhen company demonstrated a self-balancing spoon for Parkinson’s patients, highlighting the convergence of entrepreneurship and social awareness on display at the 4th China Charity Fair, which ended at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center yesterday.

    Over 200 novel projects were shown in the startup area of the fair, including dozens of projects by social enterprises. Social enterprises function like a business, while doing projects or making products that help people.

    Representatives from 20 social enterprises from the Kunpeng Social Enterprises Accelerator attended the fair to explain their business models and social values.

    The social enterprises at the fair mostly focused on elderly care, accessible education and assistance for people with special needs.

    A business accelerator, co-founded by JPMorgan Chase and Co. and NPI, recently launched a six-month program to support 20 social enterprises.

    “The accelerator works as an intermediary platform to provide these enterprises with workshops, consultants and training. They will be introduced to investors when they are ready,” said Li Sijia, project director at NPI.

    The self-stabilizing spoon was developed by Shenzhen-based GYENNO Technologies Co. Ltd. with the support of business incubator Huaqiangbei Startup Center.

    “Along with incubating startups, the center also connects sales channels for startups to market their products,” said Xi Yu, the marketing manager of the center. She said the spoon is being sold on Internet retailer Jingdong for 2,000 yuan (US$314).

    Another product supported by the incubator is being called the world’s smallest non-contact thermometer. It detects body temperature in seconds without contacting skin.

    “We plan to build a real-time database connecting hospitals with schools to monitor students for abnormal temperatures for disease prevention,” said Peter Deng, an employee at Shenzhen Joywing Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd., the developer of the thermometer.

    Prizes were presented to outstanding startup teams at the fair Friday. The China Startup League was also formally established during the awards ceremony.

    The organizer said a Shenzhen charity startup base is expected to launch by the end of the year, with the base accepting teams from across China.

    Charity project deals involving 12.2 billion yuan were signed at the fair, up 141 percent over last fair, the organizer said.

    (More on P2, 3, 4)