Chinese entrepreneur Charles Chen Yidan has set himself apart from all other rich Chinese business tycoons by creating a highly beneficial annual prize for educational institutes. Yidan is the founder and owner of Tencent Inc., the highly popular Internet platform that runs WeChat.
At the age of 45, the Chinese billionaire has decided to enhance educational development globally by giving out much of his wealth yearly to contribute to education and its improvement. Yidan has already donated a hefty sum of $320 million as a grant.
According to the report by Globe And Mail, the organization, Yidan Prize Foundation, will be giving out two monetary awards of $5 million each annually. This award will consist of $2 million in cash and the remaining will be included in the investment on the winner's project. The program will properly start in September when the first winners would receive their prizes.
After conducting meetings with universities and various organizations across the globe, Mr. Yidan and his team have urged them to nominate those who deserve the award. The aim of the generous billionaire is to support and fund the best creations and ideas, as well as to improve education worldwide.
Currently, Canadian universities are being considered for this grant since the country is leading in terms of quality education. In addition, Canada also attracts a lot of Chinese and Asians and is big on its multicultural programs.
As CBC News claims, Yidan is one of the very few billionaire philanthropists in China who is already involved in various educational causes and hopes to help introduce new teaching reforms. He talks about his love for education and how it helps to resolve so many global issues.
Believing that helping others brings virtue to oneself at the end of the day, Yidan says that he appreciates the way America and Europe have numerous corporate donations. Charles Chen Yidan also hopes to improve the educational system in China.
