"Little giant" companies are leading small and medium-sized enterprises that specialize in niche sectors, command a high market share, and feature strong innovative capacity and core technologies.

The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, and Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Finance jointly issued a notice on Sept 2 to guide sci-tech SMEs in applying for the 2025 S&T Little Giant Project to gain momentum for development.

 

I. Scope of support

Enterprises eligible for support: Shanghai-based non-listed enterprises that registered with industrial and commercial authorities before Jan 1, 2022, have obtained high-tech enterprise qualifications (within the validity period), and meet the requirements of sci-tech credit management. Support will be given to enterprises in two categories: sci-tech little giant enterprises under cultivation and sci-tech little giant enterprises.

Implementation period: Jan 1, 2025 to Dec 31, 2026

Funding amounts: Municipal-level financial support is provided on a post-subsidy basis. This means that approved enterprises shall first invest in work directly related to the improvement of innovation capabilities. After achieving results and passing a comprehensive performance evaluation, funds will be granted to them at a rate not exceeding 20 percent of the relevant R&D expenditure within the implementation period. The subsidy amount for sci-tech small giant enterprises shall not exceed 1.5 million yuan ($210,500) per enterprise, while that for sci-tech small giant enterprises under cultivation shall not surpass 1 million yuan per enterprise. During the implementation period, approved enterprises shall enjoy services in technological R&D, sci-tech finance, globalized development, collaborative innovation, talent training, and listing cultivation. Each district shall provide subsidies in accordance with the Measures of Shanghai Municipality for the Implementation of the S&T Little Giant Project, or Hu Ke Gui [2021] No 12.

Requirements for applicants:

1. Primary conditions for applying to be recognized as sci-tech little giant enterprises under cultivation:

(1) For enterprises engaging in manufacturing, the proportion of R&D personnel to the total number of personnel in an enterprise at the end of the previous year shall be no less than 10 percent, and no less than 30 percent for enterprises in software or sci-tech services;

(2) The total R&D expenditure of the enterprise in the recent three accounting years shall account for at least 6 percent of its total main business revenue;

(3) The main business revenue of the enterprise in the previous year shall reach between 30 million yuan and 100 million yuan;

(4) The compound growth rate of the main business revenue or net profit of the enterprise in the three years prior to the application shall exceed 20 percent, or the cumulative equity financing obtained shall surpass 50 million yuan (or the equivalent in a foreign currency);

(5) The enterprise shall feature an outstanding management team, a sound financial system, remarkable adaptability to market, and a flexible incentive mechanism.

2. Primary conditions for applying to be recognized as sci-tech little giant enterprises:

(1) For enterprises engaging in manufacturing, the proportion of R&D personnel to the total number of personnel in an enterprise at the end of the previous year shall be no less than 20 percent, and no less than 50 percent for enterprises in software or sci-tech services;

(2) The total R&D expenditure of the enterprise in the recent three accounting years shall account for at least 5 percent of its total main business revenue;

(3) The main business revenue of the enterprise in the previous year shall reach between 100 million yuan and 1 billion yuan;

(4) The compound growth rate of the main business revenue or net profit of the enterprise in the three years prior to the application shall exceed 20 percent, or the cumulative equity financing obtained shall surpass 80 million yuan (or the equivalent in a foreign currency);

(5) The enterprise shall have a R&D institution (technology center, laboratory, testing platform and so forth), a R&D plan, corresponding operational mechanisms in intellectual property protection, talent cultivation (including introduction) and innovation incentives as well as a relatively optimized and standardized management system. It shall also feature an outstanding management team, an effective risk control mechanism and sound rules and regulations.

Applying enterprises are encouraged to attend the "Startup in Shanghai" International Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition. Enterprises receiving the 2024 competition's first, second, and third prizes don't need to participate in the first-round evaluation — when their application materials pass the district-level review, they will directly advance to the second-round face-to-face evaluation.

 

II. Application requirements

In addition to meeting the conditions mentioned above, the following requirements shall also be satisfied:

1. Project application entities must be either corporate or unincorporated entities registered in Shanghai, with corresponding ability to organize project implementation.

2. For an applicant proposing a new project based on a previously funded project by municipal financial resources or other institutions (such as the Ministry of Science and Technology or the National Natural Science Foundation), the applicant shall clearly articulate the similarities and differences as well as the relationship of inheritance and development between the two projects.

3. All applying entities and project participants shall meet the requirements of scientific research integrity management. Each project leader shall promise the authenticity of the submitted materials, and each entity shall be responsible for its applicant's application qualifications and review the authenticity and completeness of its application materials. Project applications with confidential contents shall not be submitted.

4. When an enterprise requests to exclude specific experts from its project application, it must submit an official letter detailing the list of excluded experts and the reasons for their exclusion, along with its project feasibility plan.

5. All applying entities and project participants shall comply with guidelines on sci-tech ethics. For proposed sci-tech activities, a sci-tech ethics risk assessment shall be conducted. Sci-tech activities that fall within the scope stipulated in Article 2 of the Ministry of Science and Technology's Interim Measures for Science and Technology Ethics Review, or Guo Ke Fa Jian [2023] No 167, must undergo a sci-tech ethics review as required and provide the corresponding approval materials for the ethics review.

6. All applying entities and project participants shall comply with relevant laws and regulations on human genetic resource management and pathogenic microorganism laboratory biosafety management.

7. Those who are already serving as project leaders for two or more ongoing projects within the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology's science and technology plan are ineligible to apply as project leaders.

8. The project budget formulation shall be truthful and reasonable while complying with relevant requirements of budget management of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology's science and technology plan.

9. District-level sci-tech and industrial authorities conduct online reviews of applying entities. They then recommend eligible entities to the municipality.

 

III. Application procedures

1. Applications shall be made online, with no need to submit paper materials: Applicants shall navigate to the "Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Management Information System" to access the "Project Application" section to apply online. The application shall be reviewed online by applying entities before submission.

[First-time application] Log in to "Government Online-Offline Shanghai" (the city's e-governance platform). If you haven't registered an account, please go to the account registration page to complete registration first. Once logging in, navigate to the application guide page, select the relevant guide topic, and proceed with the project application.

[Continue an application] Log on to the e-governance platform to continue a previously started application.

2. Application period: 9 am, Sept 11 to 4:30 pm, Sept 30, 2025 (including online review and submission by applying entities).

 

IV. Evaluation methods

Correspondence-based evaluation for the first round, and face-to-face meeting for the second-round evaluation.

 

V. Announcement of approval

The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology will announce the list of projects for approval, open to public dissent.

 

VI. Hotlines

Tel: 800-820-5114

Mobile: 400-820-5114

 

Sources: Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, and Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Finance

Note: The above content is for reference only. In case of any discrepancies, the Chinese version shall prevail.