A slew of talented and ambitious Hong Kong and Macao youths have started their own businesses in the burgeoning Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, driven by the area's interconnectivity, economic potential, and superior business climate. 

China unveiled the outline development plan for the Greater Bay Area in February, aiming to build it into a role model of high-quality development, an international first-class bay area and a world-class city cluster. 

To better integrate the Greater Bay Area and connect it with surrounding southeast China, a wide range of infrastructure, including transportation and information facilities, will be built, which in turn brings huge opportunities for mass entrepreneurship and innovation.  

"The Greater Bay Area serves as a real golden opportunity for the post-80s and -90s young people," said Chen Xianhan, architect and native of Hong Kong.

Chen said he got in touch with the Chinese mainland at the beginning of 2017, and it was at that time that he began to realize the rapid growth of Guangzhou. 

"At that time, my friend told me that, in practical terms, entrepreneurs of our generation can all avail the development plan of the Greater Bay Area, as a way to start our own business. And director Lin helped me tap into this market," added Chen. 

Lin Huibin is the director of the Home of Hong Kong-Macao Youth in Tianhe district, Guangzhou, a non-profit organization that aims to help youths from Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao who are studying, working or living in the Bay Area to overcome problems ranging from starting businesses to accessing public services in the city cluster. 

The agency has served more than 4,000 young people from Hong Kong and Macao, and helped nearly 60 start their enterprises in Guangzhou. Chen Xianhan is one of them. In a mere three-month period, Chen accomplished what he had planned to do in a year – a relatively mature company with 30 employees – compared with merely two at the very beginning. 

Similarly, with the help of Youth Home, 26-year-old Hong Kong native Ye Zhengqiao set up his first studio in Guangzhou and started to offer art classes for kids after studying in the United States for six years. He said the Youth Home is like his name, giving him a feeling of home. 

A series of policies to support the innovation and entrepreneurship of Hong Kong and Macao youths, along with Youth Home, have enabled a large number of Hong Kong and Macao youths to find their development space in Guangzhou.