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April 9, 2021 · In The News

And the Award Goes To… Our 2021 Global Fast Track Entrepreneurs

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This year marks the five-year anniversary of the Global Fast Track Program in China, and to commemorate the successes of our program members, we held the Indiegogo 2021 GOGO Innovation Summit & Awards in Shenzhen, where we heard from thought leaders in the field and handed out Innovation Awards to the top campaigns of the year. Here’s how the 2021 GOGO Innovation Summit unfolded.

Dramatic campaign successes in 2020

Over the past year, we’ve seen incredible successes coming out of China from our Global Fast Track Program entrepreneurs. China-based campaigners of all types have used Indiegogo, —  China’s number one crowdfunding platform — to kick off their product journey and launch on the global stage. 

Global Fast Track Program campaigns have raised over $300 million (2 billion RMB) since the program’s inception, and 40 companies have gone on to raise at least $1 million (6.5 million RMB) for their products. The program also saw 40% year-over-year growth in China in 2020, a formidable achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of Asia’s biggest brands have been behind these launches, introducing products, building communities, and getting feedback from backers in the global market. These brands include:

  • Midea, one of China’s largest home appliance companies, which launched their first crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo and raised over $1.5 million, opening their global market and a building global community
  • Huami Amazfit, a leading tech brand from the Xiaomi Ecosystem, which launched their first two crowdfunding products on Indiegogo in 2020 (here and here), successfully kicking off their new health and fitness product line
  • Segway-Ninebot, famous for their scooters, has launched several products on Indiegogo and successfully IPO’ed in 2020

The 2021 GOGO Innovation Summit 

Representatives from Midea, Segway-Ninebot, Padmat, and CIGA discuss what it takes to bring high-quality and innovative products to an international audience.

The event was the first of its kind since the launch of the Global Fast Track Program in 2016 and included panelists and speaking opportunities from some of China’s leading voices in crowdfunding and cross-border product launches.

Jean Li, China Hardware Lead at Indiegogo, kicked things off, sharing success stories from entrepreneurs who have successfully gained support from backers and have built a global community by launching their products on Indiegogo.

The Indiegogo China Team is here to help China’s top innovative products launch in global markets. 

E-commerce experts from Google, Amazon, and Tuya, also shared trends that have emerged during the pandemic in the realms of product development, customer behavior, and e-commerce opportunities. A second panel took the stage as well, where representatives from Midea, Segway-Ninebot, Padmat, and CIGA discussed what it takes to bring high-quality and innovative products to an international audience.

The summit wrapped up with a speech from Global OneClick, a top crowdfunding agency that specializes in the Chinese market, to share how crowdfunding can help build brands in the global market.

The 2021 Innovation Awards

This year’s recipients show off their 2021 Innovation Awards.

To honor outstanding campaigns in the China Fast Track Program over the last year, we also handed out our annual Innovation Awards. We evaluated all campaigns in the China Fast Track Program, and the following came out on top:

  • Best campaign of the year: Midea U-Shaped AC
    • Midea is the top home appliance company in China. They launched their new U-Shaped AC unit on Indiegogo, raising over $1.5 million in just a few weeks. The Midea U-Shaped AC unique is a radically new type of window air conditioner. Unlike traditional units, the U-shaped design blocks noise and allows users to open and close their windows around the unit itself.
  • Best New Campaign: Bluetti AC200
    • First-time crowdfunders Bluetti launched their AC200 solar power station on Indiegogo last year, and raised $6.7 million from backers all around the world. Bluetti’s mission to create a stable, clean, and quiet power set them apart from the competition.
  • Most Valuable Brand: GPD
    • GPD has launched at least one product on Indiegogo every year since 2016, to date bringing over 10 campaigns to market. The company focuses on handheld game consoles and has built outstanding relationships with the Indiegogo backer community. Their most recent campaign, the GPD WIN3, raised over $3 million. 
  • Community Favorite Award: Amazfit X
    • We asked our community to pick their favorite campaign in the China Fast Track Program and Amazift X, the world’s first fully curved smart watch, is this year’s crowd pleaser!
  • Best Crowdfunding Service Award: Global OneClick
    • Global OneClick has helped many campaigns in the China Fast Track Program achieve their crowdfunding goals. Many of the campaigns they’ve assisted went on to raise over $1 million, and for that, they receive the honor of the Best Crowdfunding Service Award.

Other awardees included:

Interested in learning more about the Global Fast Track Program? We’re here to help China’s top innovative products launch in global markets. Read more here to see if your project is the right fit.

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