The commercial success of many high-profile Chinese entrepreneurs appears to have done little to encourage young Chinese college graduates to become their own boss. According to a recent report, only 1.6% of Chinese college graduates started businesses last year, essentially flat with the year before.
The report showed that a large share of young entrepreneurs are based in China’s less developed central and western areas, painting a picture of the typical Chinese entrepreneur as a restaurant owner or a pig farmer.
The vast majority of graduates received their funding from their parents and relatives–80% of four-year graduates and 82% of vocational-college graduates–while most Western young entrepreneurs are funded by so-called angel investors and public sources, such as government or university-based funds.
Photo by Carol Schaffer