Want... Backed by their strong financial resources, a number of leading internet firms in China, including Alibaba and Jingdong Mall, have set up colleges to cultivate talent to support their development and foster startups. These could become their new business sources, reports the Guangzhou-based Southern Weekly.
Alibaba has established Lakeside University on the site of a former club owned by founder Jack Ma in Hangzhou. With Ma as president, more than 30 people have enrolled for the university's first class. Ma doubles as a lecturer, teaching a course on the lessons of failure, mainly for startup founders.
Liu Qiangdong, founder of Jingdong Mall, also serves as president of Jingdong Zhongchuang College, on top of lecturing on management.
Ma Chenggong, executive president of Jingdong Zhongchuang College, said that the school targets startup founders, connecting them with angel fund managers, as opposed to Lakeside University, which helps entrepreneurs with management. Students of Lakeside University have to pay a tuition of 280,000 yuan (US$45,000) a year and have to attend five-day courses in person once every two months, while Jingdong students are tuition-free, said the report.
The main purpose of internet firms in setting up colleges is to tap the market for startup services, which promises huge potential with the emergence of a startup craze across the nation.
At tech media 36Kr.com, for instance, 3,000-4,500 startup proposals are put on the platform a month, seeking funding support, according to Liu Chengcheng, the founder.
The startup craze has spawned a host of service providers, including workshops and startup competitions, mostly held by media and consulting firms. Venues are springing up bringing exposure to the startups, startup cafes are serving as offices, and brokerage platforms are bridging startup founders and investors.
Ma Chengong said that Jingdong Zhongchuang College will serve not only as a service platform for startups but also as a gateway of resources and trust, consolidating the ties between Jingdong and startups for the pursuit of mutual benefit.
Poster Comment:
China showing capitalism gets the job done even in a communist country.