OVC prioritizes serving SMEs

Tu Yao, a corporate service staff member, visits a local SME. [Photo/Changjiang Daily]

The corporate service staff members assigned by the administrative committee of the East Lake High-tech Development Zone (also known as Optics Valley of China, or OVC) are seen not only at the service windows of the valley's government service center, but also at office buildings of sci-tech enterprises.

For example, an office building of the Wuhan Software New City has gathered a group of biomedicine small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The work office of Tu Yao, a corporate service staff member, was set up in the middle of all the floors, which is convenient for her to visit enterprises in the building.

The Wuhan SME service station began operating this year to ensure that local firms are served without going outside their industrial parks. Currently, there are 245 such service stations and 410 corporate service staff members. Among them, 58 service stations are located in OVC, ranking it the first in the city.

Many new products of SMEs need to go through multiple tests before entering the market. Some of these enterprises need more funds to purchase testing equipment, so they rent third-party laboratories to conduct product testing. This phenomenon is widespread in the valley as well.

Thanks to the government's support, pilot-scale experiment platforms and testing institutions were quickly established. Wuhan Zhongguancun Hard Space Technology Co, for example, is an SME service station.

"In the past, we used to take our products to be tested elsewhere. If the test failed, we would have to make modifications repeatedly. After making the improvements, we would have to re-schedule the testing time with the laboratory,” recalled an engineer.

"However, the schedule of laboratories in other places is often very tight, and it is often difficult to make an appointment. This not only delays the project timeline but also consumes a lot of time and effort," he added, praising the considerate testing service provided by Wuhan Zhongguancun Hard Space Technology Co.

In addition, Wuhan Future City has reached a cooperation agreement with local banks and financing guarantee companies to launch targeted financial products to reduce the requirements for enterprise loan qualifications.