Here at Tech in Asia, we do hold some strong opinions about the state of crowdfunding today, but we’re also more than happy to concede that platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo have their fair share of success stories.
Often, the amount of money raised isn’t the clearest indicator of future success. Case in point: a board game that quadrupled its funding goal on Kickstarter rapidly ran out of money and closed down just 13 months later. This cautionary tale demonstrates that the follow-up after the post-funding celebrations end is far more important.
Rick Chen, co-founder and CEO of Australia-based crowdfunding platform Pozible, thinks that he has a solution that combines the best of both worlds – albeit a short-term one. Today, Pozible has announced the inking of a partnership with IDG Capital Partners and the Shanghai-Nanxiang government to award dollar-for-dollar matching funds and further post-funding support to entrepreneurs behind the seven strongest Internet of Things (IoT) projects on its platform.
The three-month long program will start on November 15, and conclude on February 15 next year. A total of US$158,000 will be disbursed to the seven winners, with the top funding campaign being awarded up to US$81,000, another US$32,000 for the runner-up, and US$9,000 apiece to the remaining five campaigns.
More importantly, though, the Shanghai-Nanxiang government will be providing the winners with manufacturing and prototype resources, free Chinese entity setup services, and introductions to potential investors – all crucial follow-on resources, according to Chen:
China is a great place for hardware companies to get off the ground, but it can also be difficult for outsiders to navigate its business and manufacturing networks unless they have an understanding of the market. The connections and support the Shanghai-Nanxiang government is offering the winning campaigners is more valuable for the long-term stability of a future company than the funding match.
The initiative is part of Shanghai-Nanxiang’s Technology 50 – a plan to provide new technology companies in their region with office space, investment opportunities, and other services with the help of Chinese venture firms. With the Chinese government looking to plunge more than US$600 billion into IoT projects by 2020, there’s no better time than the present to enter the Middle Kingdom.
“China is becoming the global leader in IoT. We’re happy to support this new initiative and encourage entrepreneurs to grow their tech with us,” adds Aliza Gao, a representative with Technology 50.
See: Play to the crowd: how crowdfunding changed the status quo among China’s hardware startups
This post Hardware startups looking to enter China, this initiative might be the ‘in’ you need appeared first on Tech in Asia.
Hardware startups looking to enter China, this initiative might be the ‘in’ you need
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