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chinaukchallenge.com/" target="_self">China UK Entrepreneurship Challenge

Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê is hosting the national final of a competition in which fledging businesses could ultimately secure a £250,000 investment.

Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Advances, the centre for entrepreneurship and business interaction, is hosting the final of the China UK Entrepreneurship Challenge.

The competition aims to encourage new business ventures between China and the UK and simulate the real-world process of entrepreneurs soliciting start-up funds from early-stage investors and venture capital firms.

Tim Barnes, Executive Director of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Advances, said: "We're trying to highlight future businesses with real potential for growth and exploit the growing entrepreneurial relationship between China and the UK."

The competition - a collaboration between Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê, the University of York, Lancaster University, and Queen's University Belfast, and the China Investment and Development Association, Chongqing Association for Science and Technology, and the Tianjing TEDA science park - is divided into two tracks: one for student-led businesses and one for existing businesses.

Four entrants from each track have qualified for the event at Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê today, pitching their business plans and sales pitches to a panel of judges made up of entrepreneurs, investors, business advisors and regulators.

The finalists include:

• Gaea National Limited - led by students from Lancaster University, who have developed a biological waste water treatment that removes organic and metal contaminants from waste water
• Hygia - led by students from Cambridge, who have investigating ways to tackle indoor air pollution
• ValueStream China - an external company that helps Chinese students in the UK find work when they return to China

The winners, who will be chosen today, will receive a £2,500 prize and qualify to compete against their counterparts from China in the international final, which will also be held at Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê in September.

Today's event, which was held at the Engineering Front Building, was attended by Mr Wei Tong from the Chinese Embassy and Professor Xiao Guo, Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Pro-Provost for China.

For more information about the China UK Entrepreneurship Challenge or Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Advances, follow the links above.

Image: Delegates at the China UK Entrepreneurship Challenge.

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Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê context

Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Advances exists to develop new links between Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê and businesses of all kinds and to promote a culture of entrepreneurship and business interaction.

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