Aussie entrepreneurs turn to China for investment

Internet Retailing

13th Jun 2018

Some Australian entrepreneurs are willing to go further than others in the search for funding to get their business ideas off the ground.

A contingent of Australian entrepreneurs and small business owners in July will travel to China to meet investors and partners who are keen to support innovative new ventures Down Under.

Led by David Thomas, founder and president of the Australia China SME Association (ACSME), who has forged an alliance with the Guangdong SME Association in China, the aim of the trip is to connect every participating entrepreneur with a potential investor.

“Australians are highly creative and entrepreneurial people and one of the key challenges to getting ideas and businesses off the ground is accessing start up funding,” Thomas said.

“Unfortunately, Australia is a limited market. Many entrepreneurs struggle to find the funds and investment they need to get start ups off the ground in Australia. As a result, many good ideas fall by the way side and are never commercialised,” he said.

However, Thomas believes that the global market that has created new business opportunities for export also presents opportunities from a funding perspective.

“What many people don’t realise is that because we now live in a global market space, we should be looking for startup funding in other countries, not just our own,” he said.

According to Thomas, businesses that offer solutions to growing social issues, such as pollution management, recycling, clean energy and health care, are of particular interest to Chinese investors.

“We will be taking a range of experts with us on the mission to ensure our entrepreneurs have the support they need to secure funding,” he said.

“Our goal is to ensure that every entrepreneur who takes part in the mission is successful in securing the funding they need to move forward with their new venture.”

Thomas added that ultimately ACSME would like to see more Australian businesses benefiting from China’s growing market through export, investment and collaboration opportunities.

“This will benefit Australia and our future as a nation if we support more Australian SMEs to promote and sell their products and capabilities overseas,” he said.