Withtheirownuniqueadvantages,suchasfavorableclimate,convenienttransportationandatalentpool,citiesinBeijing鈥檚neighboringHebeiProvincehavebeenontheirwaytoachievinganoveralltransformationandupgradeofindustriesbytappingintorichresourcestransferredfromthenation鈥檚capital.
BeijingReviewreportersvisitedseveralcitiesinHebeiinJulyandwitnessedhowtheyserveasessentialelementsinthebuildingofthecapitaleconomiccircleandwhattheyhavegainedintheprocess.
QinhuangdaooffersentrepreneursalternativestosuccessByLuYan
AftergraduatingwithaMasterofBusinessAdministrationdegreein2013andacoupleofjobslater,GuanYaoqudecidedtopursuehiscareerattheBeijingheadquartersofEValley,atechnologyservicesproviderandbusinessincubatorlocatedattheZhongguancunHaidianSciencePark,ahubofadvancedtechnologyknownasChina鈥檚SiliconValley.
Threeyearsago,GuanwastransferredtoanewlyestablishedbranchofEValleyinQinhuangdao,northChina鈥檚HebeiProvince,andnowworksasthegeneralmanager.Littledidheknowthatthejobrelocationwouldchangehislifeandthelivesofanumberofentrepreneursintheensuingyears.
鈥淚ncubatorslikeusandthelocalgovernmentreachedatacitunderstandingthatwewouldlearnfromBeijing鈥檚entrepreneurialconceptanddevelopmentmodelsintheinterestsofstartupsinQinhuangdao,鈥滸uantoldBeijingReview.
WitnessinggrowthEValley鈥檚Qinhuangdaobranch,whichopenedinAugust2015,issituatedattheQinhuangdaoEconomicandTechnologicalDevelopmentZone(QETDZ),apieceoflandcarvedoutofthecoastalcitythatfocusesondevelopingthehi-techindustryforregionaleconomicdevelopment.
WithhumanandtechnologicalresourcesfromZhongguancunandBeijingatlarge,theincubatorbringsthecapital鈥檚well-developedentrepreneurialecosystemmodeltohelpsmallandmicrobusinessesgrowandreachmaturity.
Thebranchhasa30,000-square-meterofficespaceequippedwithacompletesetoffacilities.AccordingtoGuan,bytheendofJune,about430entrepreneursfromover60companiesworkedthere.Startupcompaniesestablishedwithin24monthscanenjoyalltheconveniencesofthespaceafterapplyingandpassingaselectionprocess.
Toencourageentrepreneurshipandinnovation,thelocalgovernmentoffersarentalallowanceforcompaniesatEValley.Eightypercentofrentalfeesarereimbursed.Guansaidthatastartuppaysonlyabout4,000yuan($586)peryearforanofficespaceof100squaremeters,whilethemarketpricecanbeashighas10,000yuan($1,465)to20,000yuan($2,930)peryear.
Attheincubator,industrialtrainingandconsultingservicesareavailabletostartups,involvinginformationonnationalandregionalpolicies,businessmanagement,patentapplicationandindustryanalysis.InsteadofconsideringEValleyacompany,Guanandentrepreneursprefertothinkofitasaspaceforinnovationandcreativity,wheretheycanturntheirideasintosubstantialyields.
鈥淲ewanttodoourbesttoanswerrequestsfromsmallandmicrocompanies,fromhelpingthemwiththeircompanybrochurestoinvestmentpromotion,鈥滸uansaid.
Inturn,startupsatEValleyareunderpressuretodelivertangibleresults.EValleyestablishedanagreementwiththeQETDZAdministrationCommitteethateachyearatleastfivestartupsshouldgraduatefromtheincubatorwithanannualoperatingrevenueof5millionyuan($732,000),whichGuansaidisnoteasytoachieve.Startupsaregiventhreeyearstoreachthegoal.Iftheyfail,theycannolongerenjoyEValley鈥檚resourcesandwillbeaskedtomoveout.
鈥淔ailingisprettycommonforentrepreneurs.WhatincubatorslikeEValleydoistofacilitateandaddtotheprobabilityofsuccess.Thethree-yeargoalisforus,too,鈥滸uansaid.Augustmarksthefirstthree-yeardeal,andtheincubatorhasalreadysuccessfullycultivatedfivestartupsthathaveachievedthe5-million-yuangoal.
Aftergraduating,companiesarerequiredtoleavetheincubator.Usuallytheygotobusinessacceleratorswhichofferpreferentialpoliciessuitablefortheirstageofdevelopment.Andtheincubatorfillsitsspotswithnewstartups.
IttookEValleyaperiodoftimetofindasuitableoperationmethod.Atfirst,ittriedtofocusonincubatingstartupsintheecommercebusiness,athrivingindustryinChina.ButsoonitrealizeditwasimpracticalbecauseQinhuangdaoisrelativelyunderdevelopedinmanufacturing,makingithardtodevelope-commerce.
Itwasonlythisyearthatitfoundtheinformationsoftwareindustrywassuitableforlocalconditions.MostofthestartupcompaniesEValleyincubatesareintheinformationsoftwareindustry.Theyprovideproductsandservicesrelatedtovariousfieldssuchaseducation,cartography,medicalequipment,andsecurityandprotectionsystems.
QinhuangdaoBestVScienceandTechnologyisatechnologicalstartupwithitsofficeinEValley.Thecompanyisdevelopinganintelligentbabyplaymat.Whenbabiescrawlontothematandtouchthepicturesonit,thematmakessoundsrelatedtothepicturesandinteractswiththebaby.ThecompanystartedfromscratchatEValley,andlastyearitsproductswereintroducedtothemarket.
AnothersuccessfulexampleisRuiao,anintelligenttechnologycompanythatdevelopedafullyautomatedicecreammakingmachine,whichcombinesicecreammakingandsellingallinone.Ruiao鈥檚founderandGeneralManagerLiuWeilisaidthatEValleyofferedhiscompanyalotofhelpintermsofexpandingitsmarket,improvingproductdesignandacceleratingthedevelopmentprocess.InJune,theproductattracted2millionyuan($293,000)fromangelinvestors.
ByFebruary,therewere12incubatorsattheQETDZ,includingEValley,hometoover300startupenterpriseswithatotalofover260patents.
GuanYaoqu(standing),GeneralManagerofEValleyinQinhuangdao,northChina鈥檚HebeiProvince,conductsabrainstormsessionwithentrepreneursduringatrainingprogramonSeptember9,2015COURTESYPHOTOTechniciansoperateafullyautomatedicecream-makingmachineatRuiao,anintelligenttechnologystartupatEValleyinQinhuangdao,onAugust7COURTESYPHOTOAlandofentrepreneurship
GuansaidthattheQinhuangdaobranchofEValleyisthefruitofregionalcooperationbetweenthegovernmentofHaidianDistrictinBeijing,whereZhongguancunisheadquartered,andtheQETDZAdministrationCommittee.SuchcooperationisinlinewithamajornationalstrategyfirstputforwardbyPresidentXiJinpinginFebruary2014,whichcallsforthesynergeticdevelopmentoftheBeijing-Tianjin-HebeiregionandthecoordinationandintegrationoftheeconomiczonessurroundingBeijing.
Moreover,massentrepreneurshipandinnovation,aninitiativeproposedbyPremierLiKeqiangthatencouragesstartupsandinnovationthroughpolicyincentives,alsoservesasamotivatorforentrepreneurs.
Inthespiritofthenationalinitiatives,theQETDZsignedcollaborationdealswithscientificresearchinstitutesanduniversitiesinBeijingsuchastheChineseAcademyofSciences,PekingUniversityandTsinghuaUniversityinordertoinvitetheirprogramsandhigh-caliberpersonneltoleadthedevelopmentoflocalcompaniesandtapintotheirpotential.
CopyeditedbyRebecaToledoCommentsto