What We’ve Been 🐝Busy🐝 With in 2024

It was a dramatic year for the world, 2024. We witnessed the fundamental changes in the global supply chain and the business landscapes worldwide: the elections that installed a Trump administration in the US with its tariff threats and heightened risks of more trade war, a Labour government in the UK that vowed to restore economic vitality and rebalance its relationship with China, and a Chinese economy getting back on track to healthy growth and deeper, tech-based development, supported by a big stimulus package combined with a series of targeted measures to boost confidence, investment, and domestic consumption.

We watched the trends and events as they unfolded, digested the hot topics in our monthly newsletter, and fed the information into our daily business activities. 

It's been a busy year for us at Crayfish.io, too. We continued to support our clients in both the UK and China by providing them with strategic advice, operational support and cultural guidance. 

💥Here are the highlights: 

Our 2024 kicked off on a high note with our Founder and CEO, Ting Zhang’s rewarding business trip to China. Apart from advising a Chinese client on its internationalisation strategy, the trip deepened collaborations with existing strategic partners and started joint initiatives with new partners. A visit to BYD headquarters generated more business opportunities in the EV sector.

Follow Ting Zhang on LinkedIn #technology #inspiration #evehicle #ev #business #innovation

Being digital and driving efficiency is in Crayfish’s DNA. We have continuously invested in our digital service platform to improve the user experience of our fixed-price, module-based e-services in BD and sales, Chinese digital marketing, market research, and more. 

We celebrate inspiring success stories of our clients’ China business and enable more businesses to learn from best practices. Our “Succeed in China” interview explored the success factors of Cambridge Mechatronics Ltd in the Chinese market. The impressive story was later picked up by Business Weekly and China Daily, extending the reach of a UK tech company’s China story to a global audience.

In an effort to share our own China expertise, we launched a new Podcast series, Talking Business in China, hosted by Ting Zhang FRSA and Geyang Huang . It offers experts’ take on the practical issues, obstacles, solutions, and case studies that drive business growth in China.

Connecting, Engaging, Collaborating

Working with our industry partners, Crayfish.io provides an ongoing platform and a safe space through holding events, seminars and webinars to bring businesses and experts together and discuss market updates and trends, exchanging experiences, and sowing seeds for new collaborations. 

In March, Crayfish organised a hybrid Healthcare UK-China event in association with King & Wood Mallesons , exploring the business and investment opportunities available in the UK and Chinese healthcare sector, market conditions, rules and regulations, legalities, and practicalities. In autumn, we supported Santander UK in a panel event on life sciences markets in China and the USA, by contributing our knowledge of cultural and business environments as well as IP protection in the Chinese healthcare market.

For more details, read the insightful and thought-provoking discussions on key IP considerations while expanding in China,  and how to navigate China’s unique culture & business landscape in life sciences, or follow us on LinkedIn.

Here are some of the many events we organised or participated over the past year:

• While on one of her trips to China this year, Ting was invited to moderate a panel discussion on best practices in technology transfer management at the annual Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC). 
• In the summer, we took several tech companies to meet and talk with the Chinese ambassador to the UK in London in a rare roundtable at the Institute of Directors (IoD), which was organised exclusively for UK tech startups and scale-ups.
• At a webinar organised by the Brussels-based Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) , Crayfish experts shared expertise, insights, reflections and advice on digital marketing in China with a wider audience in the UK and Europe.
• At another webinar organised for the portfolio companies of the London-based British Design Fund , we talked about market entry strategies and trends in China to help them think and prepare their China strategy. 
• Crayfish.io has been an active member of the dynamic Cambridge tech ecosystem. This was the second year we supported Cambridge Tech Week (CTW24). As a partner this year, we actively promoted the event to a wider audience in the Chinese technology and investor community. 2024 also saw the 2nd Cambridge Wide Open Week (CWOD), a day when science parks, innovation hubs and other institutions open their doors to visitors, to present themselves as members of the Cambridge technology and innovation community. Crayfish.io is delighted to be one of the CWOD participants at St John's Innovation Centre, an active and contributing part of the ecosystem. 

Visitors from Near and Far

Visits, visits, visits! It’s hard to count the clients and partner visits we made and received in the past year, but it’s easy to say that those visits were highly rewarding.  We have had the pleasure of hosting a Chinese delegation on a UK Department of Business and Trade mission, other business delegations from around China, and our Chinese partners and investors. 

We have also visited some Cambridge-based tech startups and scaleups who are our clients, and paid visits to our clients and partners to strengthen our relationship and keep each other informed. 

Finally, let us share some happy moments with you, the summer fun and laughter at our staff family day out, on the lush green in the park, in River Cam, and under the apple trees in the legendary Orchard Tearooms.

❤️ A heartfelt thank you to all our clients, partners, investors and friends for your support in 2024!  Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2025, from us all at the Crayfish.io team.