Though he grew up in the United States and had spent most of his life away from his birthplace in China, Benny Li's decision to start an internet finance company in the latter was largely based on his desire to help small enterprises fulfill their potential.

"Solving financial problems for the small business owners and consumers is key to solving China's macroeconomic problems, which is what we are keen to work on," said Li, chairman and CEO of Huaxia Finance, which is headquartered in Shanghai.

The 46-year-old, who obtained his joint bachelor's degree in economics and business from UC Berkeley in 1992 and has worked in the financial sectors across the world for more than two decades, founded Huaxia Finance in June 2015. The company provides a risk-controlled online platform that offers loans for small- and micro-enterprises, including e-commerce sites, all over China.