Temple helps go-getters with warm hearts
Print Edition
A Buddhist temple has become a major sponsor for local young entrepreneurs setting up startups.
The city’s Jade Buddha Temple yesterday announced it had sponsored local university graduates to set up 108 startup enterprises via an 8-million yuan (US$1.2 million) sponsorship since 2009.
Among those helped was the local online food delivery firm Ele.me, which has since expanded its services to some 1,000 Chinese cities.
“I received a 100,000-yuan sponsorship from the temple in 2009 when my 2-year-old company was about to go bankrupt. The sponsorship later became my ‘lucky money’,” said Zhang Xuhao, chief executive and founder of Ele.me.
Among other startups sponsored by the temple, 73 percent have managed to survive for more than three years, while over a third have made annual profits of at least 50 million yuan, said Shi Huijue, a senior monk in charge of the sponsorship. He said the percentage points were higher than other city startup foundations.
“The main reason is that we not only examine the quality of the startup projects, but also take the young entrepreneurs’ personality into account when deciding whether to sponsor,” Shi said.
He added entrepreneurs who had good personal qualities, credibility and warm hearts were more likely to succeed.
The temple yesterday signed a contract with Jiao Tong University to invite professors from the university to offer assistance and advice to startups.
Jade Buddha also launched a startup league with the university’s School of Entrepreneurship & Innovation and Antai College Economics-Management to study the successful startup cases and share the experiences with new entrepreneurs to be sponsored by the temple.
The temple, home to two jade Buddhas, donated 10 million yuan to set up the Juequn University Entrepreneurship Foundation in 2009 to support local graduates, especially those from poor families, to set up startup companies.
Ele.me’s Zhang yesterday announced a 500,000 yuan donation to the foundation as a payback for the key assistance his company had received from the temple.
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