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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Chinese nonprofit gifts $300,000 to support international student entrepreneurship

A Chinese organization donated $300,000 to GW earlier this year to support international students’ participation in a business development contest, the University announced in a release last week.

The Fosun Foundation, an arts and culture nonprofit based in Shanghai, gifted the money in May to fund new mentorship and workshop programs for international students who participate in the New Venture Competition – an annual contest in which students develop and launch their own businesses, according to the release.

The donation will also increase the prize money available for winners and add new award categories – one of which will recognize the best business created by a group with at least two international students, the release states.

“We are grateful to Fosun Foundation for this generous gift,” School of Business Interim Dean Vivek Choudhury said in the release. “Initiatives like the New Venture Competition provide all students with valuable experiential learning opportunities and empower GW students to innovate solutions to some of the world’s most challenging issues.”

Nearly 300 students participated in the contest last academic year, and winners took home more than $150,000 in grants, the release states. Past competitors have introduced business ideas including a single-use makeup palette and a student-run credit union.

“This partnership, between a world-class university and world-class business organization, aligns GW’s entrepreneurial culture with a successful company,” Mitch Blaser, the chair of the School of Business’ Board of Advisors, said in the release.

Li Haifeng, the director-general of the Fosun Foundation, said the donation is part of the organization’s commitment to global education.

“We are pleased to support the New Venture Competition at GW and through this partnership look forward to helping develop young entrepreneurs and creating interesting inter-country opportunities for them to learn and grow,” he said in the release.

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