Positioning
The Centre for Entrepreneurship, Digital Economy, Regional Growth, and Ecosystem Enrichment (C-EDGE+) is the University of Nottingham Ningbo China’s first comprehensive research and practice hub dedicated to regional business-economic development and indigenous Chinese business practices, delivering and experiencing grounded insights for scholars and students. Taking the world’s “small-commodities capital,” Yiwu, as its launchpad and living laboratory, the Centre taps the energy of millions of micro-entrepreneurs and global traders to generate continual evidence for advancing entrepreneurial theory and practice.
Core Values
- Rigorous Inquiry—systematic, data-rich research within this uniquely dense ecosystem;
- Reciprocal Impact—ensuring every insight loops back to Yiwu’s policy and business communities; and
- Inclusive Foresight—surfacing both the “dark sides” of cut-throat rivalry and the “dawn” of collaborative innovation. We position Yiwu not merely as an outlier, but as an indispensable vantage point for understanding, shaping, and future-proofing entrepreneurial ecosystems for everyday entrepreneurs.
Main Activities
With the support of university funding, the Center operates three inter-locking pillars—Student Entrepreneurship Practice, Scholarly Research, and Industry Engagement—creating an integrated “Educate–Research–Empower” cycle:
- Student Entrepreneurship Practice
Immersive field visits to Yiwu International Trade City, company tours, and hands-on venture campaigns enable students to spot opportunities, iterate solutions, and build real entrepreneurial experience.
Continuous tracking of Yiwu’s commercial activity and construction of a dynamic database translate rapid industry change into rich datasets and cutting-edge academic insights which can feed back to the business communities and policy makers in Yiwu.
Regular forums where Yiwu entrepreneurs and ecosystem stakeholders share their experiences and perspectives feed practice back into teaching and research while accelerating local development.