A total of 511 approved registrations were received for the startup competition 929 Challenge 2026, with participants from Brazil this year making up the highest number of applicants at over 100 startups, according to a statement by the organisers on Sunday.
929 denotes nine Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities, two special administrative regions (SARs), and nine Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs).
The statement highlighted that the high number of startups joining from Brazil follows two visits to the country by the organisers to promote the contest this year, as well as the role of private, non-profit autonomous social institution Sebrae, an acronym for Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro e Pequenas Empresas (“Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service”).
The statement quoted 929 co-founder and Association for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Macau – China and Portuguese Speaking Countries (AEIMCP) President Marco Duarte Rizzolio as saying: “Brazil’s strong response shows that founders see Macau as a real gateway to China”.
The statement noted that the other applicants come from Macau and elsewhere in the GBA, as well as other parts of the Chinese mainland and the PSCs. Healthcare, fintech, energy and deep tech are the leading sectors.
The statement also highlighted a growing interest in both the contest and the markets, noting that more PSC teams are looking at China, while there is also an increase in Chinese teams looking at PSC markets.
Moreover, ahead of the 929 Summit and finals respectively slated for December 3 and 4, the event’s live online “Bootcamp” for participating teams started yesterday and runs through October 24, this year featuring 11 speakers. The statement added that PSC markets, preparing to meet investors and pitching masterclasses, are among the topics to be explored during the bootcamp.
The statement added that live sessions will be followed by one-on-one mentoring, with mentors coming from a network of over 100 investors, founders, academics, and executives, providing each team with feedback.
The boot camp will be followed by pitch submissions, with a judging committee to choose the contest’s 16 finalists to pitch in Macau.
According to Gemini, a pitch submission is a brief proposal sent to an editor, producer, publisher, or investor to convince them to greenlight a story, article, creative project, or business idea.
This infographic provided on Sunday by the organisers of the 929 Challenge 2026 shows the figures regarding this year’s team registration details.
