The Hefei high-tech zone – located in Hefei city, capital of East China's Anhui province – recently issued a corporate loan to the USTC Silicon Valley Venture.

This was to upgrade the existing USTC Alumni Entrepreneurial Loan and offer a more advanced financing option for sci-tech innovation and entrepreneurship in the area.

Going places: A view of the Hefei National High-Tech Industry Development Zone. [Photo/WeChat ID: hefeigaoxinfabu]

The University of Science and Technology of China is a major source of sci-tech innovation in Hefei and the USTC Silicon Valley is a Silicon Valley-like industrial zone in the city – consisting of the Hefei high-tech zone, iFlytek Town and the Shushan Area.

The new venture loan has a number of competitive advantages, including lower financing costs, wider access thresholds, higher loan amounts and faster lending issuances.

Unlike the previous loan option – which required the entrepreneurial team to be related to the University of Science and Technology of China – the scope of the USTC Silicon Valley Venture Loan has been expanded.

The loan is now available to the alumni of reputable universities and institutions – as well as high-level talent from various categories – including those from prestigious universities and the world's top 500 universities.

Enterprises can receive up to 20 million yuan ($2.76 million) in financial support, with the Hefei high-tech zone providing a maximum 50 percent interest discount to reduce corporate financing costs.

Additionally, support is also provided to science and technology-based enterprises through various financing products.

One of the products, in particular, is said to have been instrumental in providing financial support to a multitude of projects, totaling nearly 600 million yuan by the end of the first quarter. The program specifically targets technology micro and small enterprises, constituting a quarter of the beneficiaries.