The Zhejiang provincial government jointly developed the programme with the state-owned People’s Insurance Company of China and Shanghai-based China Pacific Insurance Co. It was established as a protection mechanism to help relieve start-ups from some financial risks, while spurring more entrepreneurs to create and build innovative businesses, according to the Xinhua report.

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The local government will shoulder up to 300,000 yuan of the insurance cost for each start-up, depending on the type of project being pursued, the report said.

This insurance scheme has come amid signs of a so-called tech winter in China, where talk of lay-offs and hiring freezes has gained ground in what was once one of the country’s fastest-growing sectors.

The industry, especially for start-ups, is driven by investors looking to back the next big thing. But that wall of money has eased up amid a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy, exacerbated by the trade war with the US.

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Among cities, Beijing was ranked as the world’s biggest unicorn capital with 82 such firms, ahead of San Francisco with 55. Shanghai had 47, New York at 25 and Hangzhou with 19.