Riding the Wave:Young Entrepreneurs in the Greater Bay Area

by Li Zhuoxi

“In the Greater Bay Area， innova- tion is respected， and talented people can find opportunity，”said young Hong Kong entrepreneur Ronald Tse， explaining the reasons he chose to set up shop in Dongguan City in southern Chinas Guangdong Province. His company， specializing in the development of intelligent surgical software and intelligent surgical robots， has supplied the products to more than 60 hospitals in big cities including Beijing and Guangzhou.

One of the most open and economically vibrant regions in China， the GuangdongHong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area （Greater Bay Area） boasts a complete industrial system， a big consumer market and an attractive business environment. Business opportunities in the area have helped young entrepreneurs become impressive success stories.

H. Fai Poon： Witnessing the Biopharma Industry Boom in the Greater Bay Area

I was born in Foshan， raised in Hong Kong， educated in the United States， and I finally returned to my roots and started a business in Zhongshan， my mothers hometown， riding the wave of the development of the Greater Bay Area.

After obtaining a Ph.D.， I joined the renowned pharmaceutical company Merck & Co Inc. When my father came to the United States for a visit， he expressed regret about his inability to communicate with my son because the little boy didnt speak Chinese. His words struck me， and I eventually realized I had to return to China. I came back in 2012 before my boy started school because I believe education in China is good enough. Also， I believe Chinas development has created more opportunities.

My choice proved to be the right one. The progress of Chinas biomedicine in the past 10 years has exceeded my imagination. In the second half of 2017， I decided to start my own business. In April 2018， I established QuaCell Biotechnology， Co.， Ltd. Thanks to the rapid development of the biomedicine industry in the Greater Bay Area and support measures from the local government covering policy， financing， startup services and supporting industries， QuaCell has grown from a 12-member team in a 900-square-meter R&D lab to a big company with over 100 employees and a 7，000-square-meter innovation service platform.

Leung Lap-Fung： Modern Farmer in the Greater Bay Area

During my senior year at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University， a social practice exercise sowed a farming dream in my and my two partners minds.

Since none of us were agriculture majors， studying farming was a whim and not popular with our parents. We never expected such a seemingly crazy dream to take such firm roots in the Greater Bay Area.

When we faced the most difficult stretch in 2016， Jiangmen provided us with land， initial funding and expert guidance. In May that year， we founded our first aquaponics company in the city. Aquaponics is a novel food production system that couples aquaculture with hydroponics enabling fish farming without changing the water and vegetable growing without fertilizer. After working on the project for years， we have applied for a dozen national patents and established two largescale aquaponics production bases. The market for our agricultural products started expanding. In 2019， we got investment from Hong Kong. Leung Lap-Fung， co-founder of a fish and vegetable production company in Jiangmen， Guangdong Province. courtesy of Leung Lap-Fung

Yip Wai-Chun： Idea to Reality

My ambitious dream to start a business culminated in the opening of the THREE DROPS restaurant in Foshan after my partner and I conducted extensive market research in cities including Guangzhou， Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

We found Foshans rent and wage levels lower than in Hong Kong while the people there were spending a lot of money in the catering industry. Most importantly， the people of Foshan and Hong Kong have similar cultural backgrounds and shared tastes in food， which was vital to the development of our business.

During our first two challenging years， we enjoyed tax incentives and various conveniences and solutions provided by government departments and chambers of commerce in the Greater Bay Area.

Thanks to such a favorable entrepreneurial environment， our first restaurant reached profitability within only four months of business. This unexpected success testified to the great potential and many advantages of the Greater Bay Area. Now， we are opening more restaurants in Greater Bay Area cities including Guangzhou， Shenzhen， Zhuhai and Dongguan. The Greater Bay Area made my idea a reality.

Jiang Haitao： Macaos Ecommerce Pioneer

I was born a restless adventurer. I left my hometown of Yancheng in eastern Jiangsu Province in 2003 to pursue undergraduate studies in Macao and chose to stay there after graduation. At 26， I quit a high-paying banking job to start my own business.

Living outside the Chinese mainland for a period makes you realize how many valuable business opportunities our countrys development creates for young people. The mainland is far ahead in developing mobile web applications. Many startups may find difficulty carving a niche in the mainlands competitive market， yet become extremely popular elsewhere. In 2016， my company launched the takeaway service app AOMI， similar to the Dianping and Meituan apps in the mainland， to provide food delivery and restaurant review services for people in Macao. AOMI is now the most downloaded life service platform in Macao. Our download reached 2.6 million， and more than 430，000 have registered. We estimate 9.5 out of 10 young Macao people use the app.