THE China (Shenzhen) Innovation & Entrepreneurship International Competition, known as the “Olympics” of the innovation and entrepreneurship world, has sailed overseas once again. The Stockholm leg of this year’s competition, the seventh edition, was recently held, becoming the first offline overseas subcontest of the competition after the pandemic.

A total of 21 projects from seven industries — next-generation electronics, high-end equipment manufacturing, green and low-carbon, new materials, biopharmaceuticals and health, digital and fashion, and the marine economy — advanced to the finals of the Stockholm leg. The project “MULTI4 — The game changer in endoscopic cancer diagnostics and treatment,” from the high-end equipment manufacturing category, won first prize in the finals.

The winning teams from the finals, as well as the top two teams from each industry, will be qualified for the industry finals and the grand finals to compete with winning projects from 13 other legs worldwide.

More than 90% of participating teams at the Stockholm contest were high-level talent from well-known universities in Sweden and overseas. Over 50% were foreign competitors involved in overseas science and technology innovation projects.

The finals of the Stockholm contest invited well-known venture capitalists and experts from higher education institutions in Sweden to serve as judges. Scores were based on a participating team’s project creativity, technological advantages, market prospects, and roadshow performance.

Without the barrier of nationality, all overseas innovation and entrepreneurship projects are admitted to the competition. The total prize money of this year’s competition reaches 9.71 million yuan (US$1.33 million), which includes individual prizes up to 1.75 million yuan. A venture capital pool of 25 billion yuan has been set up by more than 50 investment institutions to fund outstanding projects.

This year’s competition, which has attracted a total of 3,265 entries from around the world, entails 14 overseas subcompetitions in 13 countries. The qualifying teams will gather in Shenzhen in April 2024 for the grand finals.

Since its initiation in 2016, the China (Shenzhen) Innovation & Entrepreneurship International Competition has attracted nearly 10,000 projects to participate. The competition aims at integrating innovation and entrepreneurship resources, assisting overseas innovation and entrepreneurship projects in accessing Chinese high-tech industrial resources, opening the Chinese market, and realizing mutual benefits and win-win results.

(SD News)