After three weeks of training in the 928 Challenge Bootcamp, the finalist teams pitched their proposal last Saturday, 29 October, in the WTC Centre of Macau. In the Startups category, the OneDrop startup from Shenzhen won the first prize with a web platform to reduce food waste. Two more startups from Guangzhou, China, got the second and third prizes: Ecomel Ecological & Technology proposed a filtration technology solution, and Reconnect Environmental Institute submitted an educational APP to promote sustainable behaviors. In the Universities category, the first place went to a team from Shenzhen University that proposed an AI-based solution to enhance oxygen generation in aquaculture. The Eduardo Mondlane University, in Mozambique, won second place with a project for biogas generation from waste in poultry farms. The Beijing Foreign Studies University secured third place with a proposal to establish a multi-stakeholders association to enhance coffee culture and production in Timor-Leste.

The 928 Challenge aims to stimulate the creation of businesses that link China and Portuguese Speaking countries. Over the last four weeks, nearly 1250 participants representing 250 teams from China and Portuguese-speaking countries participated in online training to learn about the economic development and business opportunities in these countries and the Great Bay area of China. The teams from China received knowledge about the business environment in the Portuguese Speaking Countries: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome e Principe, and Timor Leste. On the other hand, teams from Portuguese-speaking countries learned about the Great Bay Area (GBA) in China, namely its manufacturing tradition, growing financial markets, emerging technologies, and world-class tourism and leisure center.

At the opening ceremony of the 928 Challenge, Dr. Alex Che Weng Keong, Head of Technology of the Economic and Technological Development Bureau of the Macau SAR, highlighted the importance of strengthening business cooperation between Macau and the Portuguese-speaking countries.

The Secretary of State for Digitalization and Administrative Modernization of Portugal, Mário Campolargo, has also contributed with opening remarks emphasizing the historical traditions between Macau, China, and Portugal and pointed out the opportunities emerging from the use of digital technologies and new forms of collaboration.

The process of selecting the winners included two stages. First, thirty-five mentors and judges rated the best 16 projects for last Saturday's finals among 180 teams that submitted their business pitches at the end of the Bootcamp. Then, ten judges voted to choose the best teams during the final. Members of this panel included Carlos Alvares (CEO of BNU), Eileen Stow (CEO of Lord Stow), Rui Pedro Cunha (Director & General Manager C&C Lawyers), Nestor Ng (Macau and Hong Kong Affairs Consultant), Karen Neng (Managing Director of Moxlink Technology), Celia Lao (CEO of Air Asia Hong Kong and Macau), Joao Rato (Director of Risk Management Well Link Bank) and Bernard Cheng (Director of Sustainability, SJM Resorts), Jerome Yen (Head of Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Macau), and Michelle Luo (Vice President Sinovo Enterprise Incubator in Guangzhou).

The 928 Challenge organizers view the contribution of Macau to the development of business between China and Portuguese-speaking as a concept that needs further collaboration and action among various stakeholders not only in Macau but also in Mainland China and all other countries. However, the mobilization of stakeholders is a laborious exercise that requires much more support if we want to realize the potential of the Macau platform. It is worth mentioning that the 2022 competition was possible because of the confidence of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries and the Economic and Technological Development Bureau, as well as the critical generosity of private sector sponsors: Galaxy Entertainment Group, ISA Tantec, BNU, Millenium BCP, KNJ Investment, Moxlink Technology Group, Luso Bank International, Companhia de Electricidade de Macau, , C&C Lawyers, CESL Asia, MdME lawyers, and Fidelidade Seguros.