Juexing (right), abbot of the Jade Buddha Temple presents a young entrepreneur with the sponsorship to help him start his business.

The city’s Jade Buddha Temple announced sponsorship worth 2.3 million yuan (US$330,284) on Monday to local university graduates forstartup projects.

The temple’s Juequn University Entrepreneurship Foundation will sponsor 21 startup projects on science and technology, cultural innovation, marketing and non-profit services.

The projects include a wearable heart monitor that can alert rescue services in the case of an emergency. It was developed by Xie Qiuchen, an undergraduate from Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University.

Other projects include the Wenniao Canteen, an online food delivery firm specializing on local white-collars and a marketing firm focusing on brand promotion at campus.

To better help these young entrepreneurs, the foundation also established an expert team to guide their development. Five experts including senior investors and university professors have been appointed as the first batch of mentors.

The Buddhist temple has become a major sponsor for local young entrepreneurs setting up startups. It had sponsored local university graduates to set up over 130 enterprises via an 11-million yuan sponsorship drive since 2009. Among those sponsored was local online food delivery firm Ele.me, which has since expanded its services to some 1,000 Chinese cities.

The temple donated 10 million yuan to set up the foundation in 2009 to support local graduates, especially those from poor families, to set up companies.

Wang Qiang, founder ofWenniao Canteen, an online food delivery firm catering to office workers, outlines his project at a sponsorship ceremony.