Shenzhen's Qianhai becomes startup magnet in China's Greater Bay Area

The Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub has become a prime destination for entrepreneurs in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) thanks to its preferential policies and rich commercial resources.

Photo shows the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 15, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Huang Kechao)

Jointly launched by the Qianhai Authority, the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups and the Shenzhen Youth Federation, the hub supports development in key Hong Kong sectors, including AI, embodied intelligence and health technology. It has attracted 535 startups.

"The hub connects Hong Kong, Shenzhen and overseas markets, introducing foreign companies to the region and facilitating the outbound business expansion of local enterprises," said Mo Weixuan, the hub's general manager.

Mo Weixuan, general manager of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub, answers questions from journalists at the exhibition hall of the hub in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept.15, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Ebulayi)

Mo said the hub provides extensive policy support to fuel startup growth. More than 200 start-ups have applied for office spaces at the hub and over 150 applications have been approved.

Hong Kong-based i2Cool, which produces electricity-free cooling technology, established a branch office at the hub. Co-founder and CEO Martin Zhu told People's Daily Online that the hub's resource advantages drove the company's decision.

Zhu said Hong Kong's world-class universities and research institutions excel in basic science, but the city's limited industrial capacity and high labor costs put it at a disadvantage compared with Shenzhen for commercializing technology.

Martin Zhu speaks with People's Daily Online journalists about i2Cool's innovative technologies and his business experience at the company's office in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept.15, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Ebulayi)

"The complete industrial chains and abundant business resources in the GBA have enabled us to easily find excellent business partners and brilliant academic talents when we aim to transform scientific findings into mass-produced products and expand our market share," said Doris Leung, public relations manager of i2Cool.

The "developed in Hong Kong and commercialized in Shenzhen" approach helped the company achieve zero-carbon heat insulation and automatic cooling. i2Cool now produces coatings, membranes, ceramics and textiles used in about 30 countries and regions this year, Zhu said.

As Shenzhen Special Economic Zone celebrates its 45th anniversary this year, Leung said i2Cool is advancing electricity-free cooling research for hot, resource-scarce regions while aligning company growth with new-quality productive forces and GBA development.