The 3rd annual U.S.-China impact venture contest has been launched by Dao Ventures.
Washington, D.C. & Beijing -- In 2017, Dao Ventures, a Sino-US impact investment and accelerator group, will join forces again with the Dongsheng Science and Technology Park in Zhongguancun, China’s Silicon Valley, to launch the 3rd Dongsheng-Dao Ventures US-China Entrepreneurship Competition.
Similar to last year, in addition to the Greater Washington region as the main venue, Dao Ventures will also focus on recruiting applicants from the Boston/Cambridge area where some of the well-known US institutions of higher education are concentrated, with the objective of attracting more aspiring young entrepreneurs across the Pacific. Dao Ventures is also looking to recruit applicants from Silicon Valley and Canada this year.
The cross-border and internationalization aspect distinguishes the Dongsheng-Dao Ventures US-China Entrepreneurship Competition in that the 25 finalists from 2015 and 2016 came from four countries and local competitors from the US accounted for two-thirds of the finalists. Additionally, what particularly differentiates the Dongsheng-Dao Ventures competition is that it has included environmental and social impact as a key part of its evaluation criteria as guided by Dao Ventures. Most of the finalists and all the top winners from 2015 and 2016 who advanced to the Beijing Grand Final were considered environmental and/or social small and medium-sized enterprises.
Whether you are a solid business initiative still in the garage, a seed-stage start-up company or an emerging SME looking to scale up, entrepreneurial initiatives of different investment maturities are all welcome to apply to the 2017 Competition. We are certainly not limiting the competition to only those who look to do business in the China market – U.S. and international companies purely focusing on the domestic market but with global potential are equally encouraged to apply and participate. The sector focus of this competition encompasses technology, media, telecom, health care, fintech, and environmental in general.
The competition’s participants will be competing to win the following prizes and/or benefits:
RMB million (~$160,000) top award at the Beijing Grand Final
Cash prizes and mentoring services for top winners from the US Final Competition
An invitation and a paid trip (airfare and 5-day hotel accommodation) to participate in the Beijing Grand Final via a live entrepreneurship TV show
Prospective investments from Chinese investors, including Dongsheng and Dao Ventures
Free office space in Dongsheng’s Beijing accelerator under the joint New Ventures Global initiative between Dao Ventures and Dongsheng
Brand marketing, publicity, and media promotion
US-China cross-border consulting and mentoring services
Application is free and easy – please visit www.daoventures.com to start the journey. Registration for application will be closed on November 10, 2017, and the final competition in the US will be held in the Greater Washington region (exact venue TBD) in early December of 2017. The language of this US-based event will be English throughout the competition.
Please contact us at info@daoventures.com if there is any general inquiry about this Competition. For media inquiries, please contact Tim Yin at tim.yin@daoventures.com.