Five Chinese and foreign students in Zhejiang founded the clothing brand and won the international student innovation and entrepreneurship competition

Recently, the Zhejiang Higher Education Association Foreign Student Education Management Committee and the Xiacheng Cross-Trade Town Management Committee jointly hosted the first International Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition Finals. Projects are collected for Zhejiang University of Technology, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Zhejiang University of Technology, and Zhejiang University of Technology. Just 2 months time, the contest enrolling a total of 30 students cross-border electricity business venture, of which 7 into the finals.

In the end, the Anec brand apparel trade project of Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics won the top score of 694 high scores (out of 700 points).

The Anika brand apparel program has five members, three international students and two Chinese students. Chen Rongrong, a sophomore at the School of Finance at Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, is one of the members. She said: "The initial intention of going to the competition was very simple. I wanted to improve my ability. The reason why I chose the fashion design project was because I met Daniel through a teacher referral. He is a very ambitious African fashion designer."

Daniel is a one-year language student at the International College of Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics. He is from Africa and has his own unique understanding of local fashion styles and international trends. He believes that many traditional African motifs can be fashioned.

He said in the team exchange: "A large part of the population in Africa has no way to satisfy the fashion appeal, because the elements of solidification in Africa are difficult to break through. On the other hand, the supply of fabrics in Africa and the production of clothing have certain limitations."

"Daniel's dream is to change this pattern. We are all infected by his enthusiasm. I also saw the blue ocean of the African market, so I decided to build the Anika project." Chen Rongrong said that Zhejiang has an advantage in fabric supply and garment manufacturing. The African market has this demand, so they will focus on opening up the African market.

Referring to African clothing culture, Chen Rongrong, like many people in China, can first think of some elements such as leopard print and leather. Therefore, in the process of participating in the competition, team members focus on mining different African elements. “Africa's batik fabrics, some symbolic cultures, etc. are very distinctive. These distinctive contents are deeply buried in the lives of local people and have not been discovered and developed and used by design companies. In addition, from African landscapes The photo can also extract unique graphics, we can create it twice.” Chen Rongrong said that the team used this as an entry point for design to create the innovative elements pursued by Einika.

How to integrate these elements perfectly with modern fashion is the next challenge for the team. "African culture combined with Chinese clothing manufacturing is one of the ways to modernize and fashion, and this will also take into account domestic producers and African markets. Interest needs."

This successful entrepreneurial experience gives each team member confidence.