The HICOOL 2024 Global Entrepreneur Summit kicked off in Beijing on Friday evening. The three-day event allows startup businesses from around the world to exchange ideas and look for opportunities. Apart from the opening ceremony and sideline meetings, there is a competition during which startup teams bring forward their best ideas and products to fight for funding from venture capital firms. Over the past five years, the event has seen more than 24,000 projects presented by participants from 145 countries and regions around the world. The event also includes an award ceremony, an exhibition on innovative practices, forums and roundtables, the inauguration of top-level alliances on innovation and entrepreneurship, and HICOOL lounges with different themes.