BEIJING, July 2, 2021 — Recently, the registration for HICOOL 2021 Global Entrepreneurship Competition has concluded. After two months of project solicitation, the total number of projects registered has reached 4,018, a year-on-year increase of 98.32% compared with 2,026 of last year. A total of 5,077 applicants from 5 major competition regions of 84 countries and regions will compete with each other, among which 25% are foreign nationals. At present, the online preliminary evaluation has started. In the next two months, competitors will compete for the final prize through a series of competitions including preliminaries, semi-finals and finals.

In terms of the overall registration of this year, both the number of projects registered for the competition and the number of talents have increased compared with the same period of last year. Geographically, 3,051 projects are from the Asia-Pacific region, 520 from Europe, 339 from North America, and 70 from Oceania. In addition, there are 29 projects from Africa and 9 projects from South America. The entire competition spans 16 venues of five major competition regions, with a wide range of distribution.

Compared with that of the first year, this year’s competition opened up the domestic group for the first time, which has greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of domestic entrepreneurs. Statistics showed that the number of overseas registrations is 2,115, accounting for 53% of the total. The number of domestic registrations is 1,903, accounting for 47% of the total. The projects for competition cover a wide range of disciplines and fields. This year’s competition revolves around the industrial layout of Beijing’s "14^th Five-Year Plan" and focuses on the development frontiers of six major industries. Among them, areas such as the new generation of information technology, healthcare, artificial intelligence/fintech are still the mainstream in this year’s competition. In addition, the number of projects registered in the fields of cultural creativity, new energy/new materials/energy conservation and environmental protection, high-end equipment is steadily on the increase.

In terms of the project type, a total of 3,208 projects registered this year are in maker group, accounting for 80%. 810 projects are in growth group, accounting for 20%. Compared with those of the last year, all of them have presented a steady growth. In addition, the number of projects registered through recommendation of talent scout this year has reached 3,235, accounting for 81% (among which 1,800 projects are recommended by individual talent scout, accounting for 45%; 1,435 projects are recommended by institution talent scout, accounting for 36%). 783 projects registered without recommendation, accounting for 19%. On the whole, the number of projects registered through recommendation of talent scout has shown a certain upward trend this year.

In terms of the talent data, 5,077 participants this year come from 84 countries and regions including China, the United States, Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, Israel, Finland, South Korea, Japan, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Brazil, Poland, Turkey and Nigeria, covering many core countries and cities around the world. In terms of the gender distribution, 77% of participants are male and 23% are female. The majority of them are still male entrepreneurs. In terms of the age distribution, entrepreneurs born in the 80s and 90s are still the main force. The entrepreneurial consciousness of the post-00s and pre-70s has gradually increased, and the number of post-70s entrepreneurs is quite stable.

In terms of the participants’ academic background, 20% are doctoral degree holders and 33% are master degree holders. Since the competition has successfully attracted the attention and won the support of many key universities around the world this year, the number of undergraduate entrepreneurs has significantly increased, accounting for 38%. In addition, participants maintain a high academic background as a whole, graduating from world-class universities such as MIT, Oxford University and Stanford University, as well as domestic first-class universities such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, and University of Science and Technology of China.

According to the organizing committee, the projects registered this time will not only compete for various awards, but also have the opportunity to join the HICOOL ecosystem, that is, the sustainable, all-in-one solution platform created by HICOOL. With its full assistance, participants can realize their dream of innovation and entrepreneurship. The platform is aligned to the global mainstream science and technology incubation acceleration model, which integrates Global Entrepreneur Summit and Entrepreneurship Competition, Service Manager, Business College, Industrial Park, Fund and HICOOL @online. Projects and talents are imported from the Summit and Competition, accelerated through Business College, and with the help of dedicated Service Manager, project development clusters at different levels will form. Industrial Park will maximize the agglomeration effect and leverage on fund investment to help startups leap forward by getting proper funding support.

HICOOL 2021 Global Entrepreneurship Competition is a global entrepreneurial competition hosted by the Beijing Overseas Talents Association. With the theme of "Connect Startups Worldwide, Innovate Beijing Together", this competition is centered on entrepreneurs, participants from overseas group and domestic group will compete for 140 awards (Out of the total prize of RMB 100 million, the 1^st prize is RMB 2 million, 2^nd prize RMB 1 million, 3^rd prize RMB 500,000 and the honorary award RMB 200,000). Top investors and corporates as well as well-known mentors will be invited to provide counseling and facilitation for participating projects. In the meantime, the organizing committee will continue to empower Beijing entrepreneurs and offer a full range of "Beijing services" covering talent settlement, children’s education, medical coverage, and talent apartments.

For more information, please visit HICOOL.

Media Contact: fuguiping@hicool.com