Female Entrepreneurship on the Rise

By staff reporter ZHOU LIN

Women Entrepreneurs in China： Legendary Tales of Chinese Women

Compiled by He Zhenhong

Price： RMB 198

Paperback， 312 pages

Published by New World Press

and CEO of VIPKID； Liu Wenjing， chairwoman of Bluesail Medical– a Chinese competitor of Johnson & Johnson； Wang Shutong， president of DHgate.com， who aims to facilitate multinational trading by small and medium companies； Liu Nan， CEO of mia. com – a company that promises to serve infants and children with the safest baby products， and“Industrial Internet Pathfinder”Zhang Hongmei. What life stories and business wisdom can they share， and how do they lead Chinas economic trend？

It was when the world economy hit rock bottom in 2009 that Chinese women entrepreneurs shone. While the world was engulfed in the financial crisis triggered by the Lehman Brothers collapse， women rose up to play an important role in leading business recovery. In 2009， Dong Mingzhu had been serving as president of GREE Electric Appliances for two years； Wanfeng Auto Wheel Co.， founded by Chen Ailian， had become the worlds largest automatic wheel manufacturer after 15 years of development； Orient Landscape founded by He Qiaonü， and Huace Media founded by Zhao Yifang， successfully went public， with each becoming the first listed company in their sectors. During the following year， Noah Holdings， founded by Wang Jingbo， became Chinas first wealth management company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Eleven years have passed. Female entrepreneurs have grown into a burgeoning， undeniable， and invaluable force in business. Never have there been so many women among business founders. Statistics from China show that companies registered under a womans name only accounted for 10 percent of total registered companies in 1980， but now the proportion has grown to 30 percent. At present， China boasts approximately 30 million companies， and by such estimation， 10 million Chinese companies have women in a founding position. Among the 16，000 new companies incorporated every day， 5，000 are registered by women. Pioneering companies and unicorn companies also do not lack female participants.

He Zhenhong， editor-in-chief of the book， is the president of China Entrepreneur magazine and a member of the China Womens Development Foundation. In 2017， she co-founded the Mulan Academy with He Qiaonü， Chen Ailian， and other outstanding Chinese female entrepreneurs， dedicated to cultivating future-oriented female entrepreneurs. In Hes view， the rise of these businesswomen is a historic change. “Over the 40 years， in the process of reform and opening-up， the rise of Chinese women entrepreneurs has not only profoundly changed the situation of women themselves， but is also shaping and will continue to shape China and， in a broader sense， the rest of the world.”

The business changes mentioned by He have far-reaching significance and influence. While the business landscape has shifted with the rise of women entrepreneurs， so have business operational models， objectives， and pursuits. In a male-dominated business world， women entrepreneurs， with their mix of toughness and flexibility， their resilient and unremitting spirit as well as their diplomatic maneuvering， have demonstrated to the world another way of being – a combination of masculinity and femininity. On the journeys to pursue scale and profit， amid cutthroat competition， women entrepreneurs have the wisdom to reach a balance between earning profits and taking on social responsibility.

Moreover， this is a China-led revolutionary change. Female startup founders in China top the world by a huge margin， in both number and proportion. On the global self-made richest women list， Chinese women continually make up 70 to 80 percent. Women are gifted in identifying their own emotions and those of others， and thus can solve problems in a creative way amid fierce business competition. For example， Peng Lei， who has led Ant Financial to a valuation of US $150 billion in eight years， turned Alipay into one of Chinas “four new inventions；”and Hu Weiwei became a pacesetter in the sharing economy by founding Mobike.

Chinese female entrepreneurship is a driving force for societal transformation. Women entrepreneurs are shifting business toward more human dimensions， with respect for women awakened on three levels： from “not counting on anyone else，” to “l(fā)iving the way we want，” and “l(fā)iving in ways so as to create value for the society， the world， and humanity，” thus enabling women to honor their gender， while promoting the idea of “finding your best self.” Clearly， a transformation empowered with these messages will mean more profound value for families， children， society， and broadly speaking， all of humanity.