The annual Manchester Innovation Award was given to 27-year old Chen Jiong for his fish skin gelatin business plan.

Chen's entry was selected from more than 100 commercially viable proposals submitted by individual and teams of Chinese from around the world.

"My project aims to maximize resource utilization and create modern fish byproducts using a trash to cash logic," explained Chen.

"I just tried to make an existing product more mature for the market."

Chen's proposal involved extracting gelatin from fish and utilizing it in a variety of food products.

The young entrepreneur entered the fish byproduct industry just three years ago when he began working at one of his family's company in Manila, Philippines.

His award was sponsored by the Manchester Business School (MBS) Worldwide and chosen by a panel of leading professors, entrepreneurs and MBS alumni representatives.

"We look for ideas that will have a positive impact on society, as the mission of MBS is to be transformative," said MBS Dean Michael Luger.

"Chen's business plan is both environmentally sound and potentially profitable at very competitive costs. He presents a product the world needs."

As a first-prize winner, Chen was flown to the University of Manchester to discuss his proposal with MBS scholars and representatives from the Manchester Enterprise Center.

"I appreciated the chance to communicate with top MBS professors, and I definitely will benefit from their advice. I plan to move to Vietnam for factory setup and market expansion," said Chen.

In the past years, the Manchester Innovation competition was open to those from selected Asian countries and regions. This is the first time the contest has been restricted to Chinese citizens.

"We noticed that entrants from China were much more proactive and imaginative in their ideas than participants from other countries," said Nigel Banister, chief global officer of Manchester Business School.

Luger agreed, noting he believed Chinese were more passionate about running their own businesses.

"China has an entrepreneurial spirit and a great amount of ambitious young people," he said.

Source:China Daily