The 928 Challenge, the first startup contest between students from China and Portuguese-speaking countries with a focus on sustainability has been launched.
Bringing together 9 Greater Bay Area (GBA) Cities in China, 2️ Special Administrative Regions (SAR) and 8️ Portuguese Language Countries (PSC), the 928 Challenge is co-organized by the Macau Forum, Macau City University, Shenzhen University and the United Nations University Institute in Macau.
According to the organizers, it “is a university competition, which aims to build bridges between China and PSCs through sustainability-oriented businesses”.
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In the 928 Challenge, students participate in a 2-week Bootcamp to gain insights into opportunities in China and PSCs.
“This is the first startup competition between students from China and Portuguese-speaking countries with a focus on sustainability”, the organizers add. The main goal “is to raise awareness of international business opportunities arising from the Macau platform and to foster the development of young entrepreneurs with a global mindset”.
“We challenge Universities students and affiliates to create business plans between China and PSCs through sustainability-oriented business ideas”, the organizers say.
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According to the 2 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 to deepen academic collaborations between GBA and PSC universities, to develop networking and collaboration between entrepreneurship ecosystems in these regions, namely incubators, accelerators, universities and public institutions, and to identify startup projects with potential to be implemented and supported by investors from Macau, GBA or PSCs.
This competition is being promoted by BNU Banco National Ultramarino, Fidelidade Seguros, CESL Asia, CEM, Millenium BCP, MdME law firm and Bank of China.
