NANJING – MassChallenge, a global network of zero-equity startup accelerators, and Qixia District of Nanjing City announced last week a partnership to catalyze and support a regional startup community in the Qixia District. The announcement ceremony took place at the Zidong Ecological Conference Center in Nanjing and was attended by Siobhan Dullea, CEO of MassChallenge, and officials from the Qixia District Party Committee and the Qixia District Government.
“We are excited to partner with the Qixia District of Nanjing City to support the immense potential of entrepreneurs here and help position Nanjing as a global entrepreneurial hub,” said Dullea. “Through Bridge to MassChallenge Nanjing, we will work to create more opportunities for Chinese entrepreneurs.”
Bridge to MassChallenge Nanjing will identify and accelerate top startups interested in growing their business in the Chinese market and will help them leverage Nanjing’s resources. Startups selected for the program will participate in a week-long MassChallenge-led startup bootcamp in Qixia in September, during which they will receive curriculum sessions and mentoring from MassChallenge’s international pool of experts.
As part of this partnership, Dullea and Qixia District Committee Member and Head of Organization, Mr. Weimin Huang signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the startup ecosystem at the Qixia Tech Zone site by supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in the APAC region and helping to spread innovative best practices. The MoU signing was witnessed by both Municipal and Provincial leaders including the Nanjing City Mayor of Nanjing City, Mr. Shaomin Lan and the Secretary of the Nanjing Municipal Committee, Mr. Jinghua Zhang. The MoU signing ceremony marked the closing ceremony of Nanjing Tech Week 2019.
About Bridge to MassChallenge
Bridge to MassChallenge strengthens innovation ecosystems and drives the creation of high-quality jobs by supporting entrepreneurs and connecting them to MassChallenge’s global network. The program collaborates with local entities to understand the potential and strategic value of their unique ecosystem, empowers them to build their own innovation communities, and connects them to global markets.
About MassChallenge
MassChallenge is a global network of zero-equity startup accelerators. Headquartered in the United States with locations in Boston, Israel, Mexico, Rhode Island, Switzerland and Texas, MassChallenge is committed to strengthening the global innovation ecosystem by supporting high-potential startups across all industries, from anywhere in the world. To date, more than 2,300 MassChallenge alumni have raised more than $5 billion in funding, generated more than $2.7 billion in revenue and created more than 136,000 total jobs. Learn more about MassChallenge at masschallenge.org.
About Qixia District of Nanjing City
Qixia District, located in the northeast part of Nanjing – one of Boston’s sister cities, is an important science and educational center and shipping center in Nanjing. A complete industrial chain has been formed in Qixia starting with the scientific and technological research and development from the university city, to the incubation of the administrative region’s achievements, and the industrial development of the development zone. In recent years, Qixia District strategic advantages in terms of location, science and educational resources, particularly in the advanced manufacturing and modern service industry has seen significant success in industrial development including cloud computing, networking, Big data and artificial intelligence. The policy framework of Nanjing combined with the resources of Qixia District, has helped successively provide support for enterprises in research and development, production, financing and other aspects of innovation and entrepreneurship.