The 929 Challenge held its finals at Forum Macau last Saturday, with the Portuguese medical firm Iplexmed claiming first prize in the start-up category and the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) coming out on top in the university event with its “plant protection” unmanned aerial vehicle.
Established in 2021 by Macao-based businessman Marco Duarte Rizzolio, and the dean of the Faculty of Business at the City University of Macao, José Alves, the 929 Challenge is a competition that invites entrepreneurs and universities from China and Lusophone countries to pitch sustainable startup ideas to investors, in a bid to win a share of the prize pool, which is worth some 280,000 patacas this year.
Iplexmed, a Portuguese startup that specialises in the development of medical diagnosis equipment, received 80,000 patacas in prize money. MUST, meanwhile, collected a cheque worth 40,000 patacas.
GreenCoat, a Hong Kong company that produces eco-friendly smart plasma window technology, was the runner-up in the start-up category, followed by Nitrogen Sensing Solutions (NS2), a Portuguese firm that develops water monitoring technology.
In the university category, entries from Shenzhen University and the University of Macau were ranked second and third place respectively.
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Other prizes handed out during the finals included the most promising start-up, which went to Powerheart of Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University, and the most impactful startup, which was handed to Volet Technologies.
Overall, more than 1,600 participants took part in the 4th edition of the competition this year, with over 300 projects being submitted.
On the sidelines of the competition, Danilo Afonso Henriques, a representative of Forum Macau, stressed the importance of the event for young people. “This initiative gives them support through a boot camp, through mentoring, trying to connect them with venture capitalists, seed funding, so that they can explore their ideas and make them a reality into all of these different markets,” Henriques said to local media.
Organised by Forum Macao and various local universities, with the support of the SAR government, the 929 Challenge seeks to foster greater business and trade ties between China and Lusophone countries. Its name is a reference to the 9 cities in the Greater Bay Area, the 2 Special Administrative Regions and the 9 Portuguese-speaking members in Forum Macao.
