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In recent years, the Macao SAR Government has been proactively promoting youth entrepreneurship and has established a Macao Young Entrepreneur Incubation Centre to provide support for the city’s young business starter. The aim is to encourage young people to explore new business opportunities and to be in line with China’s national development strategies.
The Macao Young Entrepreneur Incubation Centre offers comprehensive support to new businesses
Ambitious youths keen to be entrepreneurs
The Macao SAR Government launched the incubation centre in 2015 and in October 2017 signed an agreement with Parafuturo de Macau Investment and Development Ltd. (PFM) to provide better and more comprehensive support for youths who want to be entrepreneurs.
The centre is open 24 hours. Via resource sharing and collaboration, it offers members comprehensive facilities and professional support services, which include office space, legal and accounting consultancy, entrepreneurship training and advice, roadshows and capital matching. As of June 2018, the centre received 115 membership applications, 84 of those were accepted in the fields of culture, technology, commerce and medical health.
José Chui Sai Peng, Chief Executive of PFM, is pleased with the number of applications as the centre has certain criteria for its members. Although the centre charges rent, it does not require members to pay their rents immediately. The aim is to take the rent and turn it into a stake in the company once it has matured.
“There are still many entrepreneurs who choose our centre to start their businesses in spite of our strict requirements, even those who are not starting out for the first time,” Mr Chui told Macao Image. “This proves that many Macao people aspire to become entrepreneurs.”
“For young entrepreneurs, Macao can be a good starting point for a new business, but they should also aim higher and seek opportunities in the vast Greater Bay Area which boasts a population of 67 million people.” José Chui Sai Peng, Chief Executive of Parafuturo de Macau Investment and Development Ltd
Stepwise approach
According to Mr Chui, entrepreneurs will face different challenges in each phase on the journey to start a business, so the Incubation Centre offers stepwise matching services such as: inviting international experts to form the Innovative Entrepreneurship Think Tank to give advice on first-time start-up projects; arranging roadshows; and the “Dinner with CEO” activity for start-ups or projects entering the incubation phase. These activities introduce young entrepreneurs to the latest developments of different sectors while broadening their vision.
Additionally, the Incubation Centre has signed a memorandum of understanding in co-operation with Alibaba Cloud, a cloud computing giant in Mainland China, and plans to set up the Alibaba Cloud Young Entrepreneurship Training Institute at the Incubation Centre, with a view to providing a greater number of cutting-edge training courses for local entrepreneurs.
With Macao’s distinct advantage of serving as a Commercial and Trade Co-operation Service Platform between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries – as the Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre for young entrepreneurs in China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries set its base at the Incubation Centre – Mr Chui says regional co-operation is key.
Therefore, PFM actively looks for collaborations with well developed incubation institutions in Portuguese-speaking Countries. To cite an example, the Centre successfully inked a co-operation pact with Beta-i, a Portuguese incubation institution to create the first overseas “Macao Interactive Zone” in Portugal. The goal is to facilitate the exchange of entrepreneurship and innovation between youths in both China and Portuguese-speaking Countries. Such a collaboration model will be expanded elsewhere in future too, Mr Chui added.
As the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is creating a new era for development, he said the centre will continue to forge closer ties with youth incubation institutions in Mainland China.
To encourage young entrepreneurs, Mr Chui noted: “With the overall planning for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the integration of Macao into the Greater Bay Area will happen very soon. For young entrepreneurs, Macao can be a good starting point for a new business, but they should also aim higher and seek opportunities in the vast Greater Bay Area which boasts a population of 67 million people.”
“They should seize the development opportunities of the Greater Bay Area and achieve great things by always staying innovative,” he added.
Onna Chow is now seeking to raise capital to launch her business
PFM turns dreams into reality
Parafuturo de Macau Investment and Development Ltd. also organises and sponsors competitions to find local, entrepreneurial talent and to boost awareness of new projects. Earlier this year, the Centre organised a “Start-up Weekend” with Techstars to mentor new entrepreneurs, giving them a chance to create new business opportunities from scratch in just 54 hours.
Onna Chow was rewarded with membership after winning a contest. She came up with the idea of offering storage and border pick-up services for tourists. Ms Chow is a Deputy General Manager at a local engineering company, and she has always dreamt of becoming an entrepreneur. Eight years ago, she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Entrepreneurial Management in the U.S., and she had to put her dream of starting a business aside when she first returned to Macao because she lacked the capital and opportunity.
“I’m almost 30 years old, and I feel like if I don’t try to start up my own business now I will just be an employee forever,” she said. “During the competition, I met my teammates who were all born in the 1990s and have many new ideas. They have also rekindled my enthusiasm in setting up my own business.”
Ms Chow said the centre not only provides office space, but also offers a wide range of services to pave the way for implementing their projects. She and her three team members are now moving forward with the project of helping day trippers to Macao. They are now looking for MOP1 million (US$123,700) as start-up capital to launch their business in October 2018. “After three months of trial operations, I will decide whether I can fully focus on this new business,” she stated.
Lei Zhen aims to encourage Macao youths to start news businesses in the hi-tech field with his project
New ideas light up Greater Bay Area
Introducing quality projects from neighbouring regions will also inject new energy into the incubation centre. One excellent example is, Zhuhai Nanometals Technology Company Ltd., which was founded in 2015 and won the inaugural “Parafuturo de Macao Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition” in May this year for developing a soft touch panel made of nano silver fibres.
Lei Zhen, Chairman of the Zhuhai-based technology company, said the nano silver fibre is a transparent but conductive material that will provide light without light bulbs when connected to electricity sources. This material can be applied to many areas, including green and smart electricity appliances, traffic lights, soft-touch control panels, clothing, equipment, and solar energy panels.
After winning the contest, Nanometals Technology became a member of the Centre and has been incorporated as a company in Macao with the Centre’s assistance. Aiming to introduce its products to the local Macao market this year, Mr Lei says he hopes the company will encourage more local youths to pursue an interest in technology and start news businesses in the hi-tech field. His company has also co-operated with local, higher education institutions to nurture technology talents.
“Macao is an international platform with the advantages of high quality educational institutions, personnel and capital. However, it lacks technology companies,” he said. “We hope to be the pioneer in this domain here to facilitate the economic diversification of Macao and its integration into the Greater Bay Area.”
