Raymond Langson and Sandra Chidochashe Kamupira are international postgraduate students at Shanghai University. Their entrepreneurial journey in Shanghai has been filled with both opportunities and challenges, as well as comprehensive support from Huangpu district.

Together with their classmate Lu Sangying, they decided to balance their academic pursuits with their entrepreneurial ambitions. At the end of 2024, they connected with the Huangpu District Employment Promotion Center. After assessing their entrepreneurial needs, the center collaborated with the Shanghai IC Design Incubation Base. With this support, the trio founded Tourista AR, an intelligent technology company.

Reflecting the early stages of their startup, Lu remembered that in September 2024, she was told that two African students studying in Shanghai planned to start a business. With her unique knowledge of China-Africa business and cultural exchange, she decided to meet with them. This meeting marked the start of their journey in China-Africa tourism and trade.

China and Africa have a long history of economic and trade exchanges, with China being Africa's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years. This has created strong potential in the bilateral trade and tourism markets. The team identified key issues: many small and medium-sized enterprises were struggling with foreign trade. African sellers found it difficult to connect with Chinese companies, and on-site inspections were often expensive. The SMEs faced issues such as information inconsistency and difficulty in resource matchmaking. The team saw an opportunity to create a platform that can accurately serve these companies.

Raymond and Sandra believed that the advanced AI and AR technologies they had mastered in China had the potential to boost business development and bridge cultural and communication gaps between the Chinese and African markets, so they began establishing their company in Huangpu district.

With a teacher’s recommendation, they participated in the review for the district's "Chuang Ka" entrepreneurship channel, a program initiated to support graduate entrepreneurs in bringing their projects to Huangpu. Key incentives, such as six months of free office space, allowed the team to focus their seed capital on business development and technology R&D. The reliable office space also boosted team efficiency and served as a crucial base for communications.

After qualifying for the program, Tourista AR received ongoing support from a dedicated joint service team, which included a chief entrepreneurship mentor, an entrepreneurship guidance expert, and a local community liaison. They maintained regular contact through online updates and in-person visits, to understand the company's needs in real time.

The support team helped the company through many procedures, such as the registration process for a foreign-funded enterprise, which involved complex documentation. The entrepreneurship guidance expert, familiar with policies and regulations, helped the company define its compliant business scope and liaised with relevant departments to secure both a registered and a practical operating address.

Upon preliminary registration, the team also accompanied the three founders to complete the final signing procedures in person at the business registration office, ensuring a smooth process and accelerating the company's operations.

The company obtained its business license on April 2, 2025. Lu said that the company will be innovation-driven, integrating frontier technologies into the China-Africa tourism and trade sectors.

Evolving from facilitators in China-Africa trade to innovators in smart tourism, this cross-cultural team showcases the power of technology and cultural fusion. Huangpu district is committed to upgrading its supportive policies to better serve overseas entrepreneurs in the future.

Sources: Shanghai Huangpu district government, official WeChat account of the Shanghai Employment Promotion Center (ID: "hnbc1800")