The 928 Challenge, the first start-up contest between students from China and Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs), will take place online next month with a first prize of MOP 10,000.
Bringing together nine Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities, two Special Administrative Regions (SAR) and eight Portuguese-speaking Countries (PSC), the 928 Challenge is co-organised by the Macao Forum, City University of Macau, Shenzhen University and the United Nations University Institute in Macau.
According to the organisers, it “is a university competition, which aims to build bridges between China and PSCs through sustainability-oriented businesses”.
In the 928 Challenge, students will participate in a two-week bootcamp starting on 4 October to gain insights into opportunities in China and PSCs, with a focus on sustainability.
“This is the first start-up competition between students from China and Portuguese-speaking countries with a focus on sustainability,” the organisers added. The main goal “is to raise awareness of international business opportunities arising from the Macao platform and to foster the development of young entrepreneurs with a global mindset.
“We challenge university students and affiliates to create business plans between China and PSCs through sustainability-oriented business ideas.”
According to the co-founders of the 928 Challenge, José Alves and Marco Duarte Rizzolio, the contest’s mission is firstly to disseminate knowledge about the business environment of GBA and PSCs.
Other goals include deepening academic collaborations between GBA and PSC universities, developing networking and collaboration between entrepreneurship ecosystems in these regions, namely incubators, accelerators, universities and public institutions, and identifying start-up projects with potential to be implemented and supported by investors from Macao, GBA or PSCs.
In addition to a first prize of MOP 10,000, there will be a second prize of MOP 7,000 and a third prize MOP 5,000.
