Jing'an MakerHub product of innovation competition

An innovation hub for startups has been launched in Shanghai, bringing down the curtain on an international innovation competition.

"Jing'an MakerHub" was unveiled on Friday in downtown Jing'an as the latest fruit of the "Shanghai Makers" competition, which was launched in 2016 as to make Shanghai a fertile innovation land.

Themed "Meet Makers Today, Embrace Partnership Tomorrow," this year's competition kicked off in September during the Pujiang Innovation Forum, and attracted nearly 500 candidates from 21 countries and regions.

Notably, it's the first time the competition was open to overseas candidates.

Christoph Melcher, founder of Irie Biotech, said the competition has offered a great entry to the Chinese mainland market, with the company ready to expand its business from Taiwan to Shanghai.

Pauli Minnaar, founder of Denmark-based IDUN audio, demonstrated the firm's marketing strategy in the roadshow, saying that he hoped to build connection with Chinese investors and partnerships with interests to explore the development of spatial audio.

The competition has also built a platform for universities, research institutes, start-ups, investors and industrial giants to seek cooperation.