From September 1st to 2nd, the Business Plan Contest: New Materials, being the first event of the 8th “Innovative Jiangsu� Science and Technology Business Plan Competition, was held in Changzhou National High-tech District (CND). A total of 64 projects from 13 cities across Jiangsu province attended the contest, seven of which made their way to the finals.

Initiated under the background of fighting COVID-19 and reopening businesses through science-based approaches, this year’s “Innovative Jiangsu� Competition attracted 5,480 startup teams and businesses to participate in the contests, nearly 19% higher than the number of applicants last year. In the New Materials contest, the participants include 92 doctoral degree holders, 41 master’s degree holders and 13 high-tech businesses.

The panel of judges, composed of seven professionals in the investment industry and experts in materials science, assessed each project in terms of its technology, business mode, market potential and team building. To support small and medium sized enterprises in their attempts of resuming production and work, this year’s event also invited representatives from Jiangsu Bank and Jiangsu Tech Industry Investment Corp. to help the businesses in need of financing.

As the organizer of this event, the CND has been focusing on developing the new materials industry in recent years, of which carbon fibers and composite materials have been eye-catching with a 40% growth in output values and 61.1% increase in profits year-on-year.