The Bank of China Trophy One Million Dollar Macao Regional Entrepreneurship Competition 2023 was successfully held at the University of Macau (UM). Three entrepreneurial teams, namely ‘Perilla Oil-in-Water Nanoemulsion’, ‘BioPeTech Eco-friendly BSG Cat Litter’, and ‘Vision Grid – Leader of General Machine Vision Quality Inspection Scheme’, won the first prize, second prize, and third prize, respectively. The top three teams will represent Macao in the grand final of the One Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition.
This year’s competition received a total of 62 applications, covering areas as medical equipment, biotechnology, smart city, and financial technology. The team ‘Perilla Oil-in-Water Nanoemulsion’ from the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) bases itself on the development strategy of traditional Chinese medicine in Hong Kong and Macao and loads traditional Chinese medicine into a nanoemulsion system, with the goal of creating a new preparation combining traditional Chinese medicine and nanoemulsion for external use.
The team ‘BioPeTech Eco-friendly BSG Cat Litter’ from UM uses spent grain generated by the beer industry as a plant fiber base to develop a natural, environmentally friendly, healthy, and high-quality cat litter product. At the same time, the product also provides a solution to the environmental problems caused by the large amount of malt waste in the beer industry.
The team ‘Vision grid – Leader of General Machine Vision Quality Inspection Scheme’ from MUST has achieved a series of breakthroughs and innovative applications in visual quality inspection technology, including integrated industrial quality inspection, as well as low-labour high-efficiency sample labelling technology.
The following guests attended the award ceremony: Lei Im Kei, acting head of the Department of Students of the Education and Youth Development Bureau; Lau Kit Lon, head of the Business Promotion Division of the Economic and Technological Development Bureau; Simon Che, senior manager of the Project Transformation and Support Department of the Science and Technology Development Fund; Lao Ieng Lam, head of the Scenario Development Division of the Personal Banking and Channel Management Department of the Bank of China Macau Branch; Carrie Ling, director of Entrepreneurship Center of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Ye Aijun, assistant dean of Zhuhai Fudan Innovation Institute; Harvey Huang, duty manager of Centre for Entrepreneurship and Career Planning of MUST; Vong Keng Hei, president of Macao Legal Exchange and Promotion Association; Charles Tong, vice president of the Investment and Research Department of Parafuturo De Macau Investment and Development Limited; Evan Yin, general manager of the Research and Development Department of InfoMacro Information Technology Limited; Paul Pang, dean of students of UM; Cindy Lam, director of the Alumni and Development Office of UM; Jerome Yen, head of the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of UM; Matthew Liu, director of the Centre for Continuing Education of UM; and Elvo Sou, head of the Student Counselling Section of Student Affairs Office of UM.
The One Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition was launched in 2011 by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Regional competitions in recent years were held in Hong Kong, Macao, Foshan, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing, and the Yangtze River delta. The event aimed to provide a platform for students, entrepreneurs, and investors to exchange ideas and collaborate in competitions, in order to get to know more about each other. The Macao regional competition was organisesd by HKUST, hosted by UM, and sponsored by the Bank of China Macau Branch.