Nurturing business creativity
NEW start-up companies are thriving in Songjiang since the district encouraged the creation of “incubators” and began offering incentives to young entrepreneurs.
From January to May, registration of new companies rose 60 percent from the previous year. Start-up investment from venture and private equity funds has topped 20 million yuan (US$3 million), growing 46 percent.
The Ants Space in Thames Town, a four-story incubator for young companies, has attracted projects in sectors such as tourism, cooking, dancing and arts education.
“Young entrepreneurs don’t have a lot of money, so we provide them low-rent office space, exhibition rooms and conference halls,” said Ants Space Director Yang Zhi said. “They can share business resources and exchange ideas here.”
Songjiang’s strategy of “one neighborhood, one street and three bases” offers fertile ground for innovative young minds. Thames Town is the neighborhood, and Wenhui Road that runs through University Town is the street. Formation of three incubation bases is underway.
Preferential policies
“Wenhui Road has about more than 800 shops, half of which are in food service businesses,” said the director of the district’s Office of Entrepreneurial Promotion. “We want to adjust the commercial mix to attract more university students with a passion for starting up their own businesses.”
Different zones have different specialties in the realm of creative start-ups, including focuses on technology, the arts, automotive, education and the Internet of Things.
Zechengauto.com, an online car sales website based in Songjiang, has just received a 300,000-yuan loan to expand its business and set up an offline outlet.
Last year Shanghai’s fiscal, educational and insurance bureaus launched a joint effort offering subsidies, low-rent offices, low-interest loans and free training and internships for young university students who plan to start up businesses after graduation.
“Today’s entrepreneurs are lucky because they have access to subsidies and preferential policies,” said a director from a local insurance bureau.
Songjiang has also created a 1-billion yuan fund to foster young companies and grant subsidies on housing, rents, medical services and education for outstanding young minds.
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