The Yichang High-Tech Zone has recently awarded 17.35 million yuan in science and technology innovation and entrepreneurship incentives to 179 zone-based enterprises for their 2024 performance.

　　Committed to driving technological advancement, the zone focuses on cultivating industry leaders and accelerating the commercialization of research breakthroughs. With over 300 high-tech enterprises and nearly 700 registered small and medium-sized technology firms, it leads all districts and counties in Yichang for technological development. The past year saw the establishment of four new provincial-level “new species” sci-tech innovation enterprises and twelve at the district level. The zone has further strengthened industry-academia collaboration through its specialized innovation supply chain platform.

　　To date, 800 companies have registered on Hubei’s Sci-Tech Innovation Supply Chain “Tianwang” Platform, which employs a demand-driven research model. This system enables businesses to submit technical requirements that university research teams then address. The platform has already facilitated 242 project requests, resulting in 70 formal partnerships and generating 39.31 million yuan in transaction value. These achievements have secured the zone top marks in Yichang’s annual performance evaluation. (Reporter/Fu Wei, Correspondent/Lin Xingxin)