A guideline to promote mass entrepreneurship and innovation was released by the State Council on March 11.

The guideline was introduced to boost the development of “mass makerspace”, service platforms for entrepreneurship where innovators gather to create by sharing resources and knowledge, to nurture an environment for entrepreneurship and innovation as well as to allow people to realize their full potential.

The guideline stated goals to achieve by 2020. The goals include building mass makerspaces to meet the demands of startup entrepreneurs and to deliver professional services, to cultivate a group of angel investors and venture capital institutions to offer convenient financial support. It also highlights the key goal of incubating a large number of small and micro-businesses in emerging industries to boost economic growth.

In order to build a low-cost, convenient, all-factor and open mass innovation space, the experience of incubation platforms such as makerspaces, venture cafes and innovation factories will be analyzed, the guideline said.

Good working conditions, and a friendly, supportive, community will be provided to individual startups where they can share their information and resources, it said.

Stepping up policy support, the government will also simplify registration procedures and offer subsidies in areas such as rent, broadband fees and software to innovative businesses.

Training courses will be carried out in universities and colleges to encourage students to start their own businesses and people with technical expertise will be encouraged, the guideline said, as this approach will create a significant number of jobs.

Emphasizing the government’s role in providing innovation support, subsidies, and improving access to finance for startup companies, the guideline also asked government bodies to hold activities to promote entrepreneurship such as competitions and nurture a culture suitable for mass innovation.

Being a significant channel for creating jobs, mass innovation and entrepreneurship is regarded as a new engine for future economic growth in China, the guideline said.