In recent years, the government has endeavoured to promote the nurturing of young people and continued to expand the development space of young people’s innovation and entrepreneurship through diversified policy measures, and yesterday afternoon the 2024 Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest Macao Chapter Final took place at the Macao Young Entrepreneur Incubation Centre (MYEIC) in Nape.
This year’s Macau leg of the competition, jointly organised by the China Centre for Promotion of SME Development, the Economic and Technology Development Bureau (DSEDT) and the China International Cooperation Association of SMEs, attracted 97 local innovation and entrepreneurship projects covering areas such as high-tech, new energy and environmental protection, artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, biomedicine and big health, cultural and creative industries, as well as tourism, business services, and education.
In a speech before the presentations, DSEDT Acting Director Chan Tze Wai underlined the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship in social development, stressing the need of continuous innovation and change for all walks of life in enhancing the overall economic development towards achieving high quality.
Chan went on to say she believed that the organisation of the competition in Macau for the third consecutive year would help promote the development of local innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives, and help young people integrate their innovative ideas into the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA): “The Macao Chapter was held for the third consecutive year, and the past winners of the Macau region have achieved remarkable results in advancing to the annual final…… I believe that the vigour of the Macau team in pioneering business and the integration of innovative ideas into the Greater Bay Area through the highly effective platform of ‘Maker in China’ will help boost the Greater Bay Area into an innovative economic region with international competitiveness”.
This year’s Macau leg of the competition facilitated exchanges between nine entrepreneurial project teams and representatives of enterprises, helping small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Greater Bay Area achieve a higher level of innovation and development, according to a statement by the organisers yesterday.
Projects featuring intelligent storage and integrated design testing solutions, research and development (R&D) and industrialisation of high-performance fuel cell electrodes, as well as membrane technology in wastewater treatment solution were awarded the first, second and third runner-up respectively and will represent Macau at the annual final of the Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest to be held late this year.
The third runner-up of 2024 Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest Macao Chapter Final presents her project on membrane technology in wastewater treatment solution, at the Macao Young Entrepreneur Incubation Centre (MYEIC) in Nape yesterday. – Photo: Yuki Lei
