Seedrs and InteBridge Venture Capital partner to host the China Innovation and Entrepreneurship International Competition
Seedrs is excited to announce its official partnership with the China Innovation and Entrepreneurship International Competition (IEIC), and will be co-hosting the national division in London on the 28th March 2017 alongside InterBridge Capital.
Known as the “Silicon Valley” of China and a neighbour to the bustling business hub of Hong Kong, Shenzhen is organising one of the largest international competitions for entrepreneurship. The competition, supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the PRC, the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs and the Shenzhen Government, is offering ambitious startups the chance to win a share of £1 million of equity-free cash.
The IEIC welcomes entrepreneurs from innovative growth-focused businesses from all over the world to enter into one of eight national competitions held in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, India and Germany. An experienced team of judges, consisting of professional investors, business influencers, and leading figures from the startup community will score and review each application.
From all the applications, twenty entrepreneurs in each location will be selected to pitch their business at the national round and 1st place will receive £10,000, 2nd place £5,000 and 3rd place £3,000 in each country. A judging panel will select the top ten entrepreneurs who will be flown on an all-expenses-paid trip to Shenzhen, China in April to pitch against the other national winners for a £100,000 cash pot. Ten British entrepreneurs will be going up against their peers from Silicon Valley, Munich, Sydney, Toronto, Tel Aviv, Bengaluru and Tokyo promising fireworks at the grand final as the cream of international talent and diversity showcase their businesses.
Jason Wu,managing partner at InteBridge Capital comments: “Seedrs was the obvious choice for InteBridge as our UK partner, not least because the business has garnered a lot of respect in the VC world, but also because the team is so passionate about the startup ecosystem and really understands the innovative businesses coming out of Britain. We look forward to launching the competition and uncovering some seriously exciting talent in the UK.”
Jeff Lynn, co-founder and CEO at Seedrs, says: “As a leading voice in the UK’s startup ecosystem and the most active investor in private companies in 2016, Seedrs is honoured to host this competition in our London HQ. Not only is a huge cash injection up for grabs, but IEIC is giving entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch in front of some of the leading investors and mentors in the early-stage arena.
“IEIC is building bridges amongst global startup communities and will be an invaluable experience to ambitious young business founders. Seedrs itself is a company with a truly international outlook, with investors and entrepreneurs from more than 60 countries using the platform, so it is fitting that we can offer innovative startups in the UK a global investment opportunity.”
Applications for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship International Competition are open until the 28th February 2017. Entrepreneurs who want to apply to the London division can do so here: http://www.icit.seedrs.com.
