Macau, China, March 4, 2026 (Lusa) - The Macau Government announced on Wednesday that it will open its doors to Spanish start-ups in the sixth edition of an innovation and entrepreneurship competition that until now was reserved for technology companies from Portugal and Brazil.
Representatives from Macao's Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) attended the Mobile World Congress (MWC) technology exhibition, which began on Monday and ends on Thursday in Barcelona.
According to a statement, the DSEDT took advantage of its presence at MWC to promote the new competition format to Spanish technological innovation platforms and companies.
Brazilian biotechnology start-up Hilab won the latest edition of the competition, held in June, in which six other Portuguese and Brazilian companies were also recognised, opening the door to support, funding and the Chinese market.
Hilab, with a capital of 200 million patacas (€23 million), money raised from 125 million patacas (€14.37 million) and looking for contacts, business opportunities, financing and expansion in China, was founded in 2016.
The start-up has developed a portable diagnostic device that provides laboratory-quality results.
According to information from Hilab, the device requires "just a few drops of blood" and can "perform 25 types of tests, covering 85% of the most requested medical diagnoses".
A panel of investors, academics and finance experts selected another Brazilian project, Klike.AI LLC, an artificial intelligence-powered marketing analytics platform, in second place, and the Portuguese start-up OWLplaces, specialising in artificial intelligence and geospatial data analysis, in third place.
The current leader of the Macau Government, Sam Hou Fai, who took office in December 2024, has identified the promotion of financial and commercial services between China and Spanish-speaking countries as a priority.
China established the Macao Special Administrative Region as a platform for strengthening economic and trade cooperation with Portuguese Language Countries in 2003 and, in the same year, created the Macao Forum.
In addition to China, the organisation includes members of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP): Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, Timor-Leste and, since 2022, Equatorial Guinea.
At a forum included in the Mobile World Congress exhibition, DSEDT Deputy Director Chan Chou Weng presented the Macao Science and Technology Research and Development Industrial Park project.
The government plans to invest 18.1 billion patacas (€1.93 million) in the construction of the park, which is expected to be completed by 2029.
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