In partnership with World Resources Institute and the Institute for Environment and Development (IED), we are sponsoring a three-year programme in China helping small and medium enterprises working in biodiversity and renewable energy to succeed and grow and contribute to the economic development and sustainable development in China.
More than 200 people from 120 small businesses have attended workshops to improve management skills since the launch of the programme. Following the workshops, 100 companies have been selected for further mentoring to develop business plans. The top 10 businesses compete for a prize in a year-end Investors' Forum, which is supported by venture capitalists. Following the first investor's forum in 2003, four companies won loans of US$ 1.3 million from banks.
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