All relevant units,
In order to implement the initiatives and proposals made by President Xi Jinping at the Opening Ceremony of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, proactively undertake the activities and tasks in the Dakar Action Plan (2022-2024), the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the China Science and Technology Exchange Center, and the Department of Science and Technology of Hubei Province will jointly organize “2023 China-Africa Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition”, the details of which are as follows:
I. Theme and content of the event
With the theme of “Science, technology and innovation contribute to the sustainable development of China-Africa partnership”, the event focuses on digital economy and innovative services, circular economy and industrial manufacturing, healthcare and modern agriculture. The competition aims to further stimulate the innovation and entrepreneurship vitality of Chinese and African youths, broaden the space for innovation and entrepreneurship cooperation, and build a platform for China-Africa youth exchange and cooperation to facilitate China-Africa economic development and people-to-people exchanges.
II. Organizations
(I) Hosted by:
Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, China Science and Technology Exchange Center, Department of Science and Technology of Hubei Province
(II) Organized by:
China-Africa Innovation Cooperation Center (CAICC)
(III) Co-organized by:
Tongji University, China University of Petroleum, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen Transsion Holdings Co., Ltd.
III. Schedule of the event
(I) Sign-up
Since the release of the preliminary notice, participating projects are collected. Participants are requested to send the registration form to the specific email address in each field before September 30, 2023.
Participants should be citizens of China or African countries under 40 years old (born after January 1, 1983), and abide by the laws and regulations of China and their country of nationality. The communication language of the competition is Chinese or English. Participants can be individuals or teams.
The projects are divided into two categories: (1) those intended to be put into practical application in African countries and (2) those intended to be put into practical application in China. With regard to the projects intended to be put into practical application in China, their teams should include citizens of African countries.
In principle, the participating projects should be the start-up projects with conditions for establishing a company to operate, or science and technology start-up companies registered in China or Africa after January 1, 2018. The projects can be inventions or patented technologies, or conceptual products or services realized through relevant research and development.
(II) Semi-final
The competition is divided into three fields: digital economy and innovative services, circular economy and industrial manufacturing, healthcare and modern agriculture. Semi-finals of the above-mentioned fields will be organized Shanghai, Qingdao and Wuhan respectively in October, 2023.
For the detailed schedules, please pay attention to the specific notices released by the co-organizers in each field.
(III) Final
November 8-9, 2023, Wuhan, China.
CAICC will invite qualified individuals and teams to come to Wuhan in November to participate in the final, doing project presentations and Q&A online or offline.
In the competition, there is one first prize; 2 second prizes; 3 third prizes. 5 Best Creative Awards; and awards for excellence. The competition also has awards such as Best Creative Awards, Awards of Excellence, Excellent Organization Awards, etc.
IV. Contact Information
(I) Digital economy and innovative services
Co-organized by: Tongji University
Contacts: Zhang Linhua, Zhu Yanxia
Tel: 021-65987003
E-mail: Tongji2023Africa@163.com
(II) Circular economy and industrial manufacturing
Co-organized by: China University of Petroleum
Contact: Tian Ge
Tel: 17860711082
E-mail: 1768592875@qq.com
(III) Healthcare and modern agriculture
Co-organized by: Wuhan University of Science and Technology
Contact: Wang Xiang
Tel: 13871166158
E-mail: 1142454593@qq.com
(IV) China-Africa Innovation Cooperation Center (CAICC)
Contact: Yang Ye, Wang Siqian
Tel: 027-87310267
E-mail: caicc@caicc.net.cn
