China
Uniquely positioned for modern manufacturing, China presents vast opportunities for hardware startups. With access to commercial partners in Shenzhen and Shanghai, as well as local innovation agencies, science parks and investors, the region offers resources and connections unavailable elsewhere. Timing this mission around major conferences in Macau, Hong Kong and Shanghai, we created multiple entry points for Scottish startups to plug in to.
Register your interest for Silicon Valley & Singapore Autumn '25China Spring '25
Pilot Programme
19 May - 4 June 2025
Macau, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Hong Kong
Objectives of the mission
Unlike Techscaler pop ups elsewhere, China required increased dependency on local expertise, cultural knowledge and local partners in order to create these entry points and to ensure security and impact. Delivering closely with Beijing-based TusPark - Tsinghua University’s Science Park - the pilot programme supported a small, curated group of three Scottish hardware-focused startups.
Agenda
21 - 24 May: Macau
- Attendance and participation at Beyond Expo, China’s biggest startup conference. Participation included free conference booths and an invitation to participate at Startup World Cup - with Stumuliver securing second place.
- Connections with Eric Pang, founder of Seeed Studio, Shenzhen’s main international hardware for startups partner
24 - 28 May: Hong Kong
- Led by TusPak, connections with manufacturers via the Hong Kong-Shenzen Innovation Park (HSITP)
- Participation in the Asia Summit on Global Health
28 May - 1 June: Shenzhen
Led by TusPak, startups met with commercial manufacturing partners
1 June - 3 June: Shanghai
Led by TusPak, startups met with more manufacturing partners and local agencies
Invitation, Application and Eligibility Process
- As a pilot programme, this was delivered on an invite-only basis, not advertised publicly
- Startups had to have a hardware focus
- An outreach list of suitable participants was created, led by CodeBase, leveraging partners and existing Techscaler networks
- A cohort of three startups were ultimately invited and accepted
Attending Businesses
- Endwell Care (previously known as tracker.health)
- NOMW Health
- Stimuliver
In numbers:
- Participants attending: 3
- CodeBase colleagues attending: 2
- Delivery Partners attending: 3
- Average costs per flight: £910.57
- Average cost per hotel room per night: £81.22
Feedback
One of our cohort members, Aakanksha Sadekar, has written detailed accounts of her trip. Read her experience:
Two cities, two lessons
Lessons from Hong Kong
The founder’s compass
Lessons from Macau
Join Techscaler
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