Australia is urging its businesses and companies to think innovatively when considering China. That’s because China is in the midst of shifting from an economy that relies on manufacturing - to one that encourages innovation. Economists say that shift is opening up a world of possibilities for quick-thinking entrepreneurs from down under.

The key to Jess Wilson’s success came from an observation about the way she and other 20-something-year old consumers were being treated.

“I found that millennials weren’t being spoken to the right way when it came to shopping on your mobile so it’s something that I personally wanted.” Jess Wilson, founder of Stashd said.

So the Sydney entrepreneur created Stashd - an online shopping mobile phone app aimed at meeting the needs of people her age. And once she combined her ability to spot trends with a tech savvy co-founder - she set her sights overseas. 

“We picked China because we knew we had access to a lot of western brands that people in China, especially the millennial market, would like access to, and there is the whole rise of the middle class in China, especially millennials who want to shop those western brands.” Jess Wilson said.
 
“Rising middle class are people who buy something today and something else tomorrow and consumer behaviour will change so you have to be very quick and you have to be in hi-tech in order to adjust to this constant change.” Professpr Hans Hendrischke, from University of Sydeny said.

That was the message at a business forum in Sydney, which focused on China’s commitment to becoming a global powerhouse in innovation and technology.

“They have seen that there is very little future in the longer run in labour intensive and low labour manufacturing because there are too many other competitors coming.” Hans Hendrischke said.

The forum  - which included government and business leaders - also explored how Australian businesses can take advantage of that economic shift, and China’s growing middle class consumers.
 
"It’s clear that innovation has to be the centre, of not necessarily everything, but a big part of your strategic thought and consideration.” Mike Baird, NSW premier said.
 
Experts say all of this points to the fact that for Australian tech-based companies, now is the time to take a good, hard look at China and the rapidly expanding job opportunities.

Especially considering the increasing competition from other countries.
 
"We just think that we can see a problem there and we can provide a solution there..” Wilson said.

And that’s just what the 24-year old is doing -by targeting a growing market of young consumers that Wilson says no one really bothered to pay enough attention to before.