The 2020 Nantong Sci-tech Entrepreneurship Contest concluded on Oct 17, with 30 projects featured in the provincial contest and 14 companies participating in the national contest.

The event, which has been hosted by the city's science and technology bureau since 2013, has attracted more than 3,000 innovation and entrepreneurship projects over the past eight years.

Among them, 17 have won financial support from the provincial government and 13 have been funded by the central government.

A total of 710 projects signed up for this year’s contest after it was launched in June, with 34 entering the final. Participants included start-up companies and university students.

One highlight was the domestically-produced vascular prosthesis by Jiangsu Bioda Life Science Co. Bioda claims to be the first company in China to industrialize vascular prosthesis. 

Yan Dong, the company's representative, said that Germany and Japan currently own a 90 percent share of the global market for vascular prosthesis, and Bioda is aiming to break the monopoly.

Like Bioda, most of the projects entering the final are related to strategic emerging industries, including biomedicine, new-generation information technology, high-end equipment manufacturing, new materials, new energy and energy preservation.

"Small and micro sci-tech companies are diamonds in the rough. They will become unicorns (companies) after they have grown up," said Wu Yongfeng, an official from the city's sci-tech bureau.

According to Wu, the contest has paid more attention to emerging industries in recent years. The local government had also introduced new policies earlier this year to provide more support to sci-tech and innovative businesses.