LHASA, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region will offer subsidies up to 100,000 yuan (about 14,898 U.S. dollars) each year for medium and small tech companies and startups, according to the regional science and technology department.

The subsidies, called "innovation vouchers," aim to spur entrepreneurship and innovation and facilitate resource sharing in the region, the department said.

Startup teams can apply for 50,000 yuan each year. The vouchers for medium and small tech companies and startups can be used to cover up to 50 percent and 90 percent of the expenses respectively on buying services.

The companies applying for the vouchers should be registered in Tibet, the department said.

The region gained 2.02 billion yuan from the digital industry in 2018, up 25.1 percent year on year.

By 2018, Tibet had established 74 entrepreneurship and innovation entities, including makerspaces, sci-tech enterprise incubators, innovation and entrepreneurship bases for college students and bases for small and micro businesses. These entities have attracted 1,338 entrepreneurship teams and startups, according to a white paper on the region released in March.