In China's mountainous southwest of Guizhou, young entrepreneurs are becoming more attracted to one of the poorest provinces in the country because of its favorable government policies and resources.
Wang Jingling, 25 and general manager of Guizhou Huntersun Information Technology Co Ltd, is one such young businessman. His goal is to provide netizens with an app that lists arrival times of public buses.
"Entrepreneurship has 'burst onto the scene' in Guizhou province as the Internet expands opportunities available to young people in the one of the least-developed regions in China," said Xu Hao, the deputy mayor of Guiyang, the province's capital.
Wang and 18 colleagues are embarking on an app project called Zhi Xing Gong Jiao, which means smart traveling public bus, that will provide residents with information on the locations of public buses. He said the app would benefit 60 percent of residents in the city's urban areas.
"Kaili (a city in Guizhou) is the first city where we launched our service, in March this year. Today, the number of users have reached 40,000," said Wang, who said their goal is to reach 200,000 users in Kaili.
"Making data accessible to the public makes Guizhou stand out among other provinces in China."
Wang said the app integrates bus location information, social functions, news, and coupons from advertisers that users can use to take public buses.
"With this app, we can also serve small companies by helping them market their products to targeted customers," Wang said.
When residents find out when a bus will arrive, Wang explained, companies distribute coupons through the app for would-be passengers to peruse while they wait.
Wang's company has acquired a series of favorable government policy supports since it gained its registration August 2014, including a three-year use of office space free of charge and capital.
"We get a great deal of supports from the government," said Wang.
The Internet has given Guiyang and Guizhou great economic opportunities after the development of big data industries, such as cloud services for transportation, logistics and tourism became a focus in Guizhou's annual work report this year, Xu said.
"The living costs and competition in coastal big cities are high and furious. Guizhou has introduced good policies and attaches importance to the big data industry," Wang said.
A lack of talents is one major challenge for Wang and his team, but he said he believes that more and more young talent will be attracted to Guizhou.
Contact the writers through zhaokai@chinadaily.com.cn
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Big Data 2015 is the world's first summit for the industry. Deng Gang / for China Daily |
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The exhibition has attracted a number of startups. Wu Weidi / for China Daily |
