Chinese delegation set to visit Liverpool
A HIGH-profile delegation from a Chinese city known as the capital of crowdfunding is to visit Liverpool to explore opportunities for collaboration in big data, crowdfunding and tourism.
The group of 24 delegates from Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou Province in China’s south west, will include the city’s Deputy Mayor, Wang Yuxiang. The delegation will tour Liverpool’s booming creative and tech clusters, and meet with city leaders during the visit on Friday April 8.
The group will also meet a number of local companies looking for international investment during the visit, organised by Liverpool’s inward investment agency, Invest Liverpool.
The visit comes on the back of a recent trip to Guiyang conducted by Liverpool Vice Mayor Gary Millar, cabinet member for Business, Enterprise and Investment, and Ellen Cutler, head of Invest Liverpool and, earlier this year to encourage trade, investment and other forms of cooperation between enterprises in both cities engaged in the crowdfunding, big data and high technology sectors.
A friendship agreement to formalise the link between the two cities will be also signed by Gary Millar and Wang Yuxiang during the visit. The agreement will strengthen relations between Liverpool and Guiyang, as the cities look to develop and maximise opportunities for mutually beneficial projects and activities and encourage trade and investment.
Ellen Cutler, director of Invest Liverpool, said: “We’re excited to welcome this delegation from one of the world’s crowdfunding hotspots to Liverpool and to be furthering the city’s already strong relationship with China.
“The strength of Guiyang’s crowdfunding sector, coupled with Liverpool’s deep-seated entrepreneurial spirit, is a combination that has real potential, both for investors and for the innovative businesses that abound in the Liverpool City Region.
“Liverpool is the number one city for small start-ups in the UK, so it’s only logical to explore the synergies which exist between our two great cities, and develop and cultivate interest from international investors looking to tap into that spirit of enterprise and innovation.
“We look forward to having this opportunity to show this high-profile delegation around our city, and alert them to the brilliant businesses that Liverpool is home to.”
During the visit, the delegation will also enjoy presentations from Liverpool City Region businesses that operate in the biomedical sector and are looking to connect with the Chinese market.
Dr Karl Bamford, chief executive of Vodus, which specialises in the creation of polymer materials for use in the biomedical sector, is one of the companies set to pitch to investors during the visit.
He said: “From our point of view, this is a fantastic opportunity. We’re an expanding business and we’re always looking for new routes to market and this enables us to set out our business and present our proposition to some really influential, well connected investors and crowdfunding specialists.
“China is a key target market for us, but there are always challenges inherent in tapping into and connecting with international markets – particularly if you’re a small business, so it’s great to have this selection of investors right on our doorstep, showing such keen interest in Liverpool and what we have to offer.”
