Women in business thrive in Beijing
Aspiring female entrepreneurs flock from all over to find success in China’s prosperous capital
From Latin America to Africa, from Canada to Thailand, from Shanghai to London, women are flocking from all over to pursue a business career in China’s prosperous capital. On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Global Times spoke with a diverse pool of Beijing-based businesswomen and “one-woman show” start-ups to gauge the city’s climate for women entrepreneurs. Women noted a number of reasons for their Beijing business adventures, with many citing market gaps and passion to introduce their culture to China. Thanks to the country’s continuous opening-up policy and encouragement of foreign investment, its capital’s business ecosystem is increasingly cultivating opportunities for the world’s aspiring women entrepreneurs, which experts say is not only the “right thing to do,” but also the “smart thing to do.”
On the bustling streets of Beijing, through its labyrinthine
hutong alleyways, and up to the top floors of its towering skyscrapers, ambitious businesswomen from a cocktail of countries and regions and a mixture of industries are chasing their dreams and smashing through the glass ceiling.
China’s opening-up and economic reforms that started in 1978 have enabled its capital city to become a flourishing international hub boasting a colorful show of talent and immense economic vitality, with the Beijing government setting its GDP growth target at around 6.5 percent for 2018. And as the cherry on the cake, “China’s economic growth is creating greater opportunities for women,” said Elaine Zhou, co-founder of the Women Equipping Center.
In fact, according to a survey by US tech giant Dell, as of 2016, Beijing was the 13th best city worldwide for women to start a high-growth business with the potential to generate $1 million or more in annual revenue. By now, Beijing has likely climbed the ladder, with more and more women moving from other listed cities to the Chinese capital to embrace their leadership skills and establish their own businesses.
Thai entrepreneur Ally Chonlakarn Sirikolkarn is an exemplar. While living and working in Silicon Valley, she realized better opportunities lay elsewhere.
Asked why she chose Beijing to establish her restaurant Sa Thi Thai Food (Beijing) Co, which provides the city with a taste of her hometown Bangkok, the self-made “restauranteur” said, “I am passionate for and fascinated by the Chinese market… Beijing is very attractive for start-ups from all over the world.”
Similarly, Zhu Ying, founder and CEO of B&E China Group, which specializes in brand marketing of entertainment content, decided to abandon a comfortable life in Los Angeles and return to her homeland. But Zhu added that compared with her hometown Shanghai, Beijing’s pull factor was stronger due to its “national culture center” status, community of angel investors and other unique characteristics that better support her company.
“In Beijing in 2017, there were over 400 transactions in the culture and entertainment sector with a total investment amount of over 42 billion yuan [$6.65 billion].” Those numbers compare with just 160 transactions amounting to 9.1 billion yuan in Shanghai, “so it has been proven that my judgment [to choose Beijing] was correct,” she added.
Canadian Michelle Gropp, co-founder of Lead with Words, a presentation training firm, also feels that Beijing’s robust business landscape is especially conducive to her company. “The Chinese economy is booming… And there’s a large presence of international companies here, and these are the companies that really value training.”
Finding a niche
Londoner Nicole Bonnah, founder of HaloHummus, was preparing dipping dishes for dinner parties when an innovative business idea sparked in her mind. Since hummus is so rare in Beijing, Bonnah decided to start selling the popular snack.
“Because the demand was so high, I decided to try selling my hummus… I put a little shout-out on WeChat… and before I knew it, I had five people contact me, then 20… Then I had over 200 in one WeChat group,” she said. “So I decided to turn it into a business.”
Bonnah wasn’t the only woman interviewed whose business has been kick-started by Tencent Holdings’ hugely popular multipurpose app WeChat. New Yorker Anya Raynae noticed a demand for buying cheap but quality clothes online. She says her WeChat shop HotSpot now allows women in Beijing to “look like a million dollars for just a few dollars,’’ and hopes to continue expanding the business in the future.
According to data Tencent sent to the Global Times, there are 980 million monthly active WeChat users and 3.5 million monthly active WeChat-based start-ups.
South African Boithabiso Mokoena also noticed a market gap. “When I first came to China, people knew about South Africa, but mainly knew about the political or sporting parts.” Mokoena later founded event company 011 Brunch to showcase a flavor of South Africa’s vibrant social scene to Beijing.
Chilean Francesca Hanshing also felt the need to introduce her country to China. Seven years ago, she moved to Beijing and founded Hanshing Agency, a consultancy advising Chilean companies in China. “In the 80s in Chile, there was a free trade zone in my hometown Iquique… I used to buy products in the zone and sell them in Santiago. There were lots of products from China in Iquique.’’
In fact, China is now Chile’s top trading partner, with a bilateral trade volume of around $35.4 billion in 2017, according to customs data.
Half the sky
According to a 2015 report by the McKinsey Global Institute, advancing gender equality and strengthening women’s economic participation could add as much as $12 trillion to global annual GDP by 2025.
Despite this evidence, “there is a gender gap in the business world,” said Gao Xin, deputy secretarygeneral of the Asia-Pacific Youth Foundation for Communication and Development. “In the past, women mainly supported the family… Few chose to start their own businesses.”
“[Regarding] the role of women in China, women have [traditionally] assumed a relatively subordinate position to men,’’ echoed Zhou.
Gao, however, said that “the women’s entrepreneurship environment is getting better… Women are more independent now.”
“Though data varies, statistics suggest that China has more businesswomen representation than many other countries, including the US… Women know China… They’re focused on its international footprint,” said British-Kenyan Hannah Ryder, founder and CEO of Development Reimagined, a consultancy delivering solutions to worldwide poverty by enhancing China’s global impact.
Indeed, and in 2017, Forbes described China as “the de facto capital of the self-made female billionaires’ club.” The dialogue with Beijing’s women entrepreneurs therefore further demonstrates how women are playing a more prominent role in the business workforce of Asia’s economic powerhouse.
“The promotion of gender equality and overall development of women is not only of great significance to China’s development, it also has a special influence on the advancement of the whole world,” said Zhou.