Mr. Martin Bienz, Consul General of Switzerland in Guangzhou, addressing the 2nd Sino-Swiss Pitchinar at the offline venue in Guangzhou. Photo credit: Guangdong Science and Technology Commission
Mr. Martin Bienz, Consul General of Switzerland in Guangzhou, addressing the 2nd Sino-Swiss Pitchinar at the offline venue in Guangzhou. Photo credit: Guangdong Science and Technology Commission

Sino-Swiss Pitchinars 2020

Initiated by the Science, Technology and Education section of the Swiss Embassy in Beijing, the Swiss-based startup incubator Venturelab signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China Science and Technology Exchange Center CSTEC, an institution affiliated to the Ministry of Science and Technology of China in October 2019. The MoU was signed in the presence of Swiss Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin and Chinese Science & Technology Minister Wang Zhigang during the 8th Sino-Swiss Joint Committee Meeting on Science & Technology. In 2020, offline events were not possible due to Covid-19 but two successful online pitchinars have been organized, featuring Swiss and Chinese startups and providing networking and match-making opportunities.

The first pitchinar, hosted by the Hubei Provincial Science and Technology Commission, was held in July 2020. The event attracted a total of over 4’000 views worldwide. 24 startups from China and Switzerland in the fields of medtech/biotech, digital technologies, new material and clean technology participated in this online roadshow and matchmaking event, pitching their solutions to representatives of more than 10 venture capital firms, 34 universities and 86 companies in China. The second pitchinar, hosted by the Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Commission, was held in November 2020. 10 Swiss startups and 10 Chinese companies in the fields of medtech, cleantech, foodtech and agri-tech attended the pitching session. More than 40 representatives from academia and industry in the Guangdong region were at the offline event venue while the session attracted more than 30’000 clicks via a livestream platform. The Science, Technology and Education section, together with the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, supported the organization, marketing and press engagement of the pitchinars. Dr. Nektarios Palaskas, Science and Technology Counsellor in Beijing and Mr. Martin Bienz, General Consul of Switzerland in Guangdong, delivered a welcome speech at the July and November events respectively.