Startup incubator pledges to widen network for young entrepreneurs

Wilson Lam, director of the Macau Young Entrepreneur Incubation Center

Parafuturo de Macau Investment and Development Limited has pledged to put more effort into training and development this year for the sake of its growing number of members.

The public company, which has been managing the Macau Young Entrepreneur Incubation Center since October, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Alibaba Cloud for setting up the “Alibaba Cloud Youth Entrepreneurship Training College” in May.

This move aims to attract more resources from around the world and provide more professional training courses for local entrepreneurs in May.

Speaking to the Times, Wilson Lam, director of the Macau Young Entrepreneur Incubation Center, said that the center is expanding its local and international development opportunities for its members, mainly in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area and the Portuguese-speaking countries.

Just last month, at the “China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries Enterprise Economic and Trade Cooperation Fair-Lisbon-2018”, the center signed a cooperation agreement with the Portuguese incubator, Beta-i in Lisbon, agreeing to set up a “Beta-i Macao Interactive Zone” in Lisbon.

“This is actually the first “Macau Interactive Zone” located overseas. From then on, Beta-i and our members can apply for the use of each other’s work space and enjoy each other’s entrepreneurial services,” said Lam.

“This intends to provide a platform for young entrepreneurs from Macau and mainland China to go to Portugal for innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as attracting Portuguese startups to come over here,” the executive added.

The Macau Young Entrepreneur Incubation Center is working on partnering with Brazil’s incubator, Fábrica de Startups Rio, to extend the “Macau Interactive Zone” to Brazil and search for opportunities for local high-quality entrepreneurial projects to enter Macau and China.

A similar model to the “Macao Interactive Zone” has already been set up at the 760 Creative Industry Park in Zhongshan.

Since its takeover, Parafuturo de Macau has received 109 new applications as of May 31, and 70 of them have been already approved.

“When we took over the whole project, it grew very quickly. This always happens and it will [settle] down a little bit, but it’s healthy. It’s slowly growing in the right direction,” said the executive.

“We don’t limit any startups. Basically, we’re helping young people to grow their business. As long as they have a business plan, we always welcome them,” Lam added.

Lam explained that the application and approval rates are gradually increasing. The approved entrepreneurs are mostly from technology, cultural, exhibition and tourism, trading and medical industries.

The center, which has offered 169 membership cards, features 56 co-working spaces and four individual rooms for accelerators, which provide 36 working spaces.

Startups are required to pay MOP8,000 for an open area, and enter an evaluation period after six months.

“If the business is doing well […] we are entitled to be part of their shareholders, with approximately five percent [share],” said Lam.

“We actually provide the space for them to start. However, more importantly, it’s the connection, because this is all it is.”

Meanwhile, the executive noted that the local business market itself is restricted and traditional, contending that related laws and systems are not up to date, which leads to the problem that the new local startup business have to stick with the relatively traditional business area.

“They should pay attention to their business models and see if they are too localized […] and focus more on thinking how to adjust and bring their business “Macau Projects” out to the Greater Bay Area or other Portuguese-speaking countries which own a much larger and diverse market,” Lam suggested.

He then added that the Central Government’s scheme – the Greater Bay Area – will open new opportunities for young entrepreneurs, noting that its partnership in the city’s neighboring regions, particularly for incubation centers, would increase.

“We suggest that Macau startups can explore and learn from the projects from mainland China and study and understand the entrepreneurial trends and the adaptability of the market for certain innovative ideas,” the director proposed.

Meanwhile, Lam disclosed that the first “Parafuturo de Macau Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition” has introduced six projects to participate across three international competitions.

Two of them are “Next Generation Protein Analytical Products and Services for Clinical and Research Markets” and “An Ambient Cell-Transportation System (ACTS)” which have entered the “Fosun Protechting – Startup Accelerator Program.”

The participants went to their one-week boot camp in Lisbon, Portugal during mid-June.

After the pitch on the last day, the team became the only two representatives of the Chinese region to enter the final competition in November.

As for the Alibaba Cloud competition, the final instalment will be held in November.