Inaugural US-China Youth Forum on Entrepreneurship and Innovation to Launch in China Dec. 5, 2017

50 American entrepreneurs travel to China to stimulate business growth, global partnerships and the sharing economy


PHOENIX, Nov. 30, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This December 5, 2017 will earmark the launch of an inaugural US-China Youth Forum on Entrepreneurship and Innovation, sponsored by US Department of State and All-Youth China Federation. As part of this Forum, 50 American and 50 Chinese emerging leaders in entrepreneurship and innovation will convene in Shenzhen, China with the goal of developing international partnerships, securing venture capital, and expanding deal flow and economic opportunities between the two countries.

The US-China Forum on Entrepreneurship and Innovation launched as a result of a collaboration between the U.S. State Department and the All-China Youth Federation to promote shared economic prosperity with globalization. It also comes on the heels of the US-China Social and Cultural Dialogue, launched by President Donald J. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to increase people-to-people ties and mutual understanding between the two nations.

During the Forum, co-founder of Airbnb Nate Blecharczyk, U.S. Ambassador Terry Branstad and Chinese officials and high-level entrepreneurs will speak about various growth, economic and global partnership topics. The Forum will also provide an opportunity for U.S. and Chinese entrepreneurs, incubators and VCs to connect to share insights on their respective innovation-driven ecosystems, as well as discuss direct investment opportunities.

“The overarching goal of this action-oriented Forum is to encourage synergies among leading U.S. and Chinese entrepreneurs, incubators, and investors to propel private sector collaboration,” said Dr. William Brashears, Director of Global Initiatives at Arizona State University. “We’ll also be exploring themes around scaling business globally, social entrepreneurship, and manufacturing the shared economy. Ultimately, we want to open the access to entrepreneurs in both Chinese and American markets, where traditionally, it’s been a challenge.”

Another strong undercurrent of the Forum is to showcase the importance of inclusive innovation through racial, ethnic and geographical diversity, women’s empowerment, and socio-economic heterogeneity.

The inaugural class of Global Innovation Fellows (50 American entrepreneurs and 50 Chinese entrepreneurs) will be matched with one another to discuss business trends and accessing American/Chinese markets, as well as build relationships ––all with the goal of coming together around shared economic prosperity.

American entrepreneurs selected to participate in the Forum, include:
Emem Adjah, Spotify Inc.
Maritza Adonis, MTA Visions, LLC,
Mikaela Aguirre, Make The Road New York
Kathryn Aiken, Rines Angel Fund
Amara Amadiegwu, The George Washington University
Brandon Andrews, Gauge, Shark Tank
Michael Basch, The Future Project
Angela Benton , NewMe
Molly Benz, GnarWalz
Simeon Bochev, Quantco
Neil Buckley, chief software architect
Dominique Carter, National Science Foundation
Justin Caskey, RMG Networks
Beth Cochran, Wired PR
Sophia Collier, Envisiondreams XR
LeShanda Davis Miller, HR/ER Consulting
Alyssa Farrelly, Golden Bridges Foundation
Ololade Fatunmbi, National Science Foundation
Daniel Fountenberry, EDUvation
Demetria Gallagher, The Jamii Group
Jonathan Goodman Levitt, Changeworx
Crystal Hayden, Runsphere
Luke Heine, Fair Opportunity Project
Sam Hendren, Tech Gone Wild/ Hendren Branding
Esosa Ighodaro, COSIGN
Heidi Jannenga, WebPT
Abiodun Johnson, COSIGN
Jared Korinko, Draper University/ ASU
Derek Kwik, Brave|Soldier Venture Capital
Michael Lewis, 2049VR
Alina Luk, Facebook
Sarah McBryan, Barrow Innovation Center
William Isaac McCoy, The Jamii Group
Patrick McFarland, Korwave
Tracy Miller, Sans
Monica Motley, Motley Consulting Group
Ashley Moy, Cast21
Jeff Nelson, Cinchapi
Egbert Oostburg, Drone Aviator
Emily Oursler, Totuba
Sonny Patel, Insurmi
Jenny Phan Domingo, Cohoots
David Richardson, bioSyntagma
Eric Reithler- Barros, bioSyntagma
Samuel Roe, Education Performance Group
Kimberly Shaffer, ExplorMor
Terik Tidwell, Johnson C. Smith University
Dominic Troffer, Fintech
Madeline Tyson, Score Algae, Inc
Vanessa Vaughn, Asfalis
Lauren Washington, KeepUp
Noah Willingham, Rethink Manufacturing Solutions
Justin Witz, Catapult HQ, Inc.
Amanda Zullo, Pop Up Produce

For more information, visit www.youthinnovationalliance.org.

Beth Cochran  |  Kristin Hege
beth@wiredprgroup.com | kristin@wiredprgroup.com
602.758.0750 | 480.540.6496