Seventeen companies from Brazil and Portugal went to Macao in search of Chinese investors and partners, according to the Portuguese news agency Lusa. This visit was part of the Macau International Start-up Week that was held from September 5 to 7.
After participating in the event, representatives of 17 Portuguese-speaking companies scheduled a tour of three cities that are part of the Gran Bay Area, as the metropolitan zone in the Pearl River Delta is known. This region includes Hong Kong and other Chinese cities. With 70 million inhabitants, the megalopolis is one of the most densely populated in the world.
The administrative director of the Brazilian incubator and accelerator Start-up Rio mentioned to the news agency that “the main objective is the Gran Bay market, and we want to contact potential investors.”
Among the objectives, there is also getting help from the local government to bring Brazilian startups to the Gran Bay Area through subsidiaries, according to Paulo Espanha, who accompanied the executives of artificial intelligence companies CyberLabs and Previsow, as well as to the Internet of Things company Phygitall.
The CEO of Nu-Rise, Joana Melo, said the priority was “to promote relationships with other companies to establish contacts in the Chinese market, such as investors, accelerators, incubators, and manufacturers.”
Melo stressed that this is a central strategy of the Portuguese company, which has developed a digital system that works in real-time in the area of radiotherapy, and that helps doctors create safer and more precise tools.
The Porto Infraspeak startup also highlighted the importance of attending the event. The Portuguese startup develops software for maintenance management, according to the company’s head of international relations, José Vieira Marques.
The Macau government has repeatedly repeated its desire to help companies in Portuguese countries invest in the region, especially after the presentation of the development project of the Great Bay.
The chief executive, Chui Sai On, reiterated last May that Macao would continue to support cooperation between Chinese and Portuguese companies, in addition to helping startups interested in developing business in Macao and the Great Bay region (Macahub).
Macao is a former Portuguese colony, so it maintains a cultural closeness with Portuguese-speaking countries, in addition to sharing the language.