With the aim to empower social entrepreneurs, device manufacturer OPPO teamed up with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in holding Youth Innovation Acceleration Camp last month. Supported by the China Alliance of Social Value Investment (CASVI), the camp held in Shenzhen connected the youth investment, industrial, and academic resources to develop their businesses.

The recent Youth Innovation Acceleration Camp focused on three main themes: environmental protection, digital inclusion, and health and wellbeing. A total of 20 youth-led tech start-ups were invited to attend the camp, ranging from angel-invested startups to those with Series A funding. The camp also invited partners of industry and investors to deliver sessions on business analysis, marketing, impact financing, and design thinking. In order to adapt to the demands of different entrepreneurs, the camp also includes consulting sessions such as start-up fairs and one-on-one mentoring, to help further develop their business model.

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“Aligned with our brand mission of ‘Technology for Mankind, Kindness for the World’, OPPO is taking actions to contribute to sustainable development,” said Sonia Miao, associate VP and head of Strategy and Business Development at OPPO. “The road to achieving SDGs is not an easy one, and as with any form of innovation and entrepreneurship, this requires us to embrace

Since entering into a one-year partnership in August 2021, OPPO and the UNDP set up a 1 million CNY (around $157,000 Youth Innovation Grants and worked together to support young entrepreneurs and social innovators in contributing solutions to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. As a partner of the 2021 National Dialogue China, OPPO offered 300,000 CNY (around $46,000) in OPPO Innovation Grants to eight outstanding entrepreneurial projects.

OPPO has long taken action on youth empowerment and has worked with young creators and artists to express their innovative ideas. Since 2019, OPPO has held its annual Renovators Emerging Artists Project, which creates a platform for young artists to imagine how art and technology will intertwine in the future while raising public awareness around social issues such as environmental protection through innovative expressions of technology and art. The program is tucked in as part of the OPPO Reno series campaigns.