“Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest (“SME IEGC”)
“Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest, focally directed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China (MIIT), is an annual global contest aiming at connecting innovative technologies with enterprises, innovation and technology (I&T) projects with industrial parks, marketing operation with government policies, and facilitating collaborative innovation in the industry and industrial upgrading. The contest recruits innovative technology companies all over the world who are interested in entering the China market, and compete in their regional chapter contests for a place in the Final.
The first “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest was held in 2017. It is one of China’s innovation and entrepreneurship contests at state level of significant global influence. The past Regional Chapter Contests were held in different places globally including: United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Israel, Australia, South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, etc, and the Final Contests were held in Mainland China.
For more details on “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest, please visit the thematic website ( https://makerinchina.hk/en/).
“Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest - Hong Kong Chapter (“Hong Kong Chapter”)
The Hong Kong Chapter was first held in 2018. Since 2019, the Digital Policy Office (DPO) (the then Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO)) has been organising the contest in collaboration with the China Centre for Promotion of SME Development of the MIIT, Department of Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and China International Cooperation Association of SMEs. The contest covers a number of innovative and technology areas, including “Fintech”, “AI & Big Data”, “Advanced Network Equipment”, “Third Generation Internet and Metaverse”, “Quantum Technology”, “Advanced Manufacturing”, “New Materials”, “New Energy and Green Technology”, “Biomedicine”, as well as “Smart Living and Smart Mobility”. The top 10 finalists of Hong Kong Chapter will have 1-on-1 business matching sessions with investors and enterprises from the Mainland. The Champion, First Runner-up and Second Runner-up will represent the HKSAR to compete in the Global Contest Final in the Mainland, for opportunities to gain support in entering the Mainland market by connecting with Mainland investors, setting up in the Mainland entrepreneurial parks, and receiving guidance on result transformation.
Please visit the Winners’ Achievement Tracking Corner to see the outstanding achievements of the finalists after the Hong Kong Chapter contest.
Group photo taken at the “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest– Hong Kong Chapter 2024 Final
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
A total of 153 innovation and technology (I&T) teams signed up for the Hong Kong Chapter 2024, which shows an increase as compared to last year. The final was held on 26 September at Cyberport. Matching sessions were arranged on site for the top 10 finalists with representatives of Mainland enterprises and investors, yielding nearly 60 successful deal flow sessions to help promising start-ups seek funding opportunities, and fostering the development of I&T industry in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) by introducing the innovative ideas of the start-ups to the GBA.
The Champion, First Runner-up and Second Runner-up of the Hong Kong Chapter 2024 are “Next-generation photonic integrated circuits for future high-bandwidth optical links, sensing and computing” by Kokoxili Photonics Limited, “Electron Beam (EB) irradiation technology application” by HK Highsolve Technology Limited, and “All-scenario rapid testing platform against antimicrobial resistance” by MicroFlow Innovation Limited respectively. They will be advanced to the Global Contest Final 2024 to be held in December 2024 to compete against winning teams from local contests in Hong Kong, Macao, Europe, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan, Korea, and Central and Western Asia.
Top 10 finalists of the “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest– Hong Kong Chapter 2024.
| Award Project | Award | Company Name |
|---|---|---|
| The next-generation photonic integrated circuits for future high-bandwidth optical links, sensing and computing | Champion | Kokoxili Photonics Limited |
| Electron Beam (EB) irradiation technology application | First Runner-up | HK Highsolve Technology Limited |
| All-scenario rapid testing platform against antimicrobial resistance | Second Runner-up | MicroFlow Innovation Limited |
| im-studio | Top 10 | Vizzle Limited |
| ALGOGENE | Top 10 | ALGOGENE Financial Technology Company Limited |
| Youtoo Robot Application AI Software | Top 10 | YouToo Robot (HK) Limited |
| Zhowcase | Top 10 | Zyetric Technologies Limited |
| Saint Novel Biotech | Top 10 | Saint Novel Biotech Limited |
| SmartAge Telenursing | Top 10 | SmartAge Intelligence Limited |
| Sourcy | Top 10 | Sourcy Global Limitedd |
Group photo of the award presenters and the winners at the “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest– Hong Kong Chapter 2024 Final
Group photo taken at the “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest 2023 – Hong Kong Chapter Final
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
A total of 148 innovation and technology (I&T) teams signed up for the Hong Kong Chapter 2023, which is comparable to last year. The final was held on 13 September at Cyberport. This year’s final is the first time held in an offline mode after the COVID-19 pandemic. Matching sessions were arranged for the top 10 finalists with representatives of Mainland enterprises and investors at site, yielding 70 successful deal flow sessions to help promising start-ups seek fund-raising opportunities, and fostering the development of I&T industry in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) by introducing the innovative ideas of the start-ups into the GBA.
The Champion, First Runner-up and Second Runner-up of the Hong Kong Chapter 2023 are “Dai3mimi” by Dai3mimi Health-Tech Limited, “MOODIE.AI AI Communication and Presentation Training Platform” by Datality Lab Limited, and “Graphene heating film soft” by Calandex Innovation &Technology (HK) Co Ltd. The Champion is also the winner of the 2022 Hong Kong ICT Awards’ Smart Living Grand Award. They will be advanced to the SME IEGC Final 2023 to be held in November 2023 to compete against winners from other overseas chapters: ASEAN, Japan and South Korea as well as Macao, China.
Top 10 finalists of the “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest 2023 – Hong Kong Chapter.
| Award Project | Award | Company Name |
|---|---|---|
| Dai3mimi | Champion | Dai3mimi Health-Tech Limited |
| MOODIE.AI AI Communication and Presentation Training Platform | First Runner-up | Datality Lab Limited |
| Graphene heating film soft | Second Runner-up | Calandex Innovation &Technology (HK) Co Ltd |
| ATEC High transparency flexible conductive multifunctional film and encapsulation | Top 10 | ATEC Film Technologies Ltd |
| Ultra-thin flexible robotic instruments for endoluminal surgery | Top 10 | Agilis Robotics Limited |
| MEMDDS™Platform | Top 10 | Memdes Bioworks Limited |
| Meat the Next Tiger Nut Enzymatic Technology | Top 10 | Meat the Next Company Limited |
| Energy-saving heat insulation self-cleaning glass transparent nano coating | Top 10 | SAMBO Group Company Limited |
| Non-invasive Breath Testing Platform: For Nutrition & Cancer Management | Top 10 | Qi Diagnostics Limited |
| Contactless Vital Sign Measurement device and application | Top 10 | Tech Hill Limited |
Group photo of the award presenters and the winners at the “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest 2023 – Hong Kong Chapter Final
Group photo taken at the “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest 2022 – Hong Kong Chapter Final
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
VIPs delivered an address at the Hong Kong Chapter Final Competition: Mr. Victor Lam, Government Chief Information Officer (Top Left); Professor Song Lai, Deputy Director, Department of Youth Affairs, Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR (Top Right); Mr. Ye Dingda, Inspector, SME Bureau, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (Bottom left); Mr. Gao Yuyue, Deputy Secretary-General, Guangzhou Municipal People’s Government (Bottom Middle); Mr. Luo Junzhang, Deputy Director of China Centre for Promotion of SME Development, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (Bottom Right) |
||
A total of 154 innovation and technology (I&T) teams signed up for the Hong Kong Chapter 2022, setting a new record. It is selected as one of the celebration events of the 25th Anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The final was held on 19 August 2022 at 3 venues in Hong Kong and Guangzhou Nansha connected by online mode. Video conference matching sessions were arranged for the top 10 finalists with representatives of Mainland enterprises and investors, yielding 60 successful deal flow sessions to help promising start-ups seek fund-raising opportunities, and fostering the development of I&T industry in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) by introducing the innovative ideas of the start-ups into the GBA.
The Champion, First Runner-up and Second Runner-up of the Hong Kong Chapter 2022 are "Wizpresso Discovery" by Wizpresso Limited, "Portable and self-administrable medical imaging for remote preventive screening and chronic disease monitoring" by Gense Technologies Limited, and "Micro Gimble Stabilizer" by Vista Innotech Limited. The Champion and First runner-up are also winners of the 2021 Hong Kong ICT Awards’ Fintech Grand Award and the IT Startup Grand Award respectively. They will be advanced to the SME IEGC Final 2022 to be held in the second half of 2022 to compete against winners from other overseas chapters: Central and Eastern Europe, ASEAN, Japan and South Korea as well as Macao, China.
Top 10 finalists of the “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest 2022 – Hong Kong Chapter
| Award Project | Award | Company Name |
|---|---|---|
| Wizpresso Discovery | Champion | Wizpresso Limited |
| Portable and self-administrable medical imaging for remote preventive screening and chronic disease monitoring | First Runner-up | Gense Technologies Limited |
| Micro Gimble Stabilizer | Second Runner-up | Vista Innotech Limited |
| 3D Printed Orthopedic Implantable Medical Devices | Top 10 | Wedo Biomedical Technology Limited |
| AI Robotic Dermatology Laser | Top 10 | RODS Technology Company Limited |
| Large-scale production technology of recombinant protein | Top 10 | DreamTec Research Limited |
| Digital Art Fair | Top 10 | Digital Art Fair Limited |
| Low cost, large format flexible intelligent sensing system | Top 10 | Ori-sys technology Limited |
| Metahuman Artist MonoC’s Garden of Eden | Top 10 | Gusto Collective Lab Limited |
| Dr.Body | Top 10 | Zero Dynamic Technology Limited |
Group photo of guests of the three units from Hong Kong and the Mainland at the “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest 2022 – Hong Kong Chapter Final
Group photo of the award presenters and the winners at the “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest 2022 – Hong Kong Chapter Final
Group photo at the 2021 “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest - Hong Kong Chapter
The Hong Kong Chapter 2021 was held on 18 August 2021 by connecting Hong Kong Cyberport, Guangzhou and Beijing venues online, and a total of 116 contestant projects were enrolled. Video conference matching sessions were arranged for the top 10 finalists with representatives of Mainland enterprises and investors, yielding 50 successful deal flow sessions to help promising start-ups seek fund raising opportunities.
The Champion, First Runner-up and Second Runner-up of Hong Kong Chapter were advanced to the SME IEGC Final 2021 held in Guangzhou on 17 September 2021 to compete against winners from other overseas chapters: Central and Eastern Europe, ASEAN, Japan and South Korea. A total of 236 projects from 18 countries and regions participated in the SMEIEGC Global Final Contest 2021. Hong Kong’s First Runner-up “MAD Gaze Limited” and Champion “I2Cool Limited” won the Global Championship and First Runner-up with their projects "MAD Gaze smart glasses" and “An Energy-free and Low-cost Daytime Passive Radiative Cooling Paint for Energy Saving in Buildings and Decarbonization” respectively. It is the second time that Hong Kong projects have won these honors since 2018. The results are encouraging. In addition, the Second Runner-up of Hong Kong Chapter, Greater Bay Biotechnology Limited’s project “Functional Hyaluronic Acid and Innovative Microneedle with wide applications in medicine and cosmetics”, was selected as one of the 45outstanding achievements at the First Collection and Release Activity of “Light of Innovation” Outstanding Achievements of SME Technological Innovation, jointly organised by the China Center for Promotion of SME Development and the China International Cooperation Association of SMEs in November 2021. Over 300 technological innovation achievements recommended by various Mainland provincial SME service agencies, relevant industry associations, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation member economies and other channels were competing for the award. It was the only project among Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to receive this award.
Top 10 finalist of the 2021 “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest-Hong Kong Chapter
| Award Project | Award | Company Name |
|---|---|---|
| An Energy-free and Low-cost Daytime Passive Radiative Cooling Paint for Energy Saving in Buildings and Decarbonization | Champion | I2Cool Limited |
| MAD Gaze Smart Glasses | 1st Runner up | MAD Gaze Limited |
| Functional Hyaluronic Acid and Innovative Microneedle with wide applications in medicine and cosmetics | 2nd Runner up | Greater Bay Biotechnology Limited |
| Ipification | Top 10 | Benefit Vantage Limited |
| Dayta AI – Cyclops | Top 10 | Dayta AI Limited |
| TCM Internet Solutions | Top 10 | Hong Kong Bauhinia TCM Limited |
| AQUMON | Top 10 | Magnum Research Limited |
| MG Medcare Magnesium Wound Dressing | Top 10 | MG MedCare Limited |
| Neuropix Smart Medical Neurotechnology for Brain Diseases | Top 10 | Neuropix Company Ltd |
| "Holoportation" Device | Top 10 | SyZyGy Limited |
Group photo of honored guests at the 2021 “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest - Hong Kong Chapter
Due to the raging global pandemic in 2020, Hong Kong’s I&T industry and citizens battled against the COVID-19 pandemic together with concerted efforts in the anti-epidemic work, and therefore this year’s Hong Kong Chapter contest was suspended.
Group photo of honored guests at the 2019 “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest - Hong Kong Chapter
The Hong Kong Chapter 2019 was held on 6 November 2019 at Hong Kong Cyberport, and a total of 94 contestant projects were enrolled. The contest also provided business matching opportunities for innovative technologies and products of local start-ups to meet with the investment needs of Hong Kong and Mainland enterprises. 6 out of 10 Hong Kong enterprises that solicited I&T projects through the contest had successfully identified interested contestant projects for investment. The aggregated intentional investment involved amounts of HK$60 million.
The Champion and First Runner-up of Hong Kong Chapter were qualified to advance to the SME IEGC Semi-Final 2019. In December 2019, they joined, together with the qualifying teams from eight other overseas regional chapters, the international Innovation Bootcamp, networking and pitching events organized by local government authorities and technology parks, and visited local technologies parks and leading enterprises in Mainland cities. The First Runner-up of Hong Kong Chapter, MatrixSense Technology Group Limited, with its project “Infanity3D”, was admitted to the top 10 in the SMEIEGC Final 2019 held in Guangzhou on 14 December 2019, and its product was purchased by a leading Mainland enterprise for over RMB1 million.
Top 10 finalist of the 2019 “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest-Hong Kong Chapter
| Award Project | Award | Company Name |
|---|---|---|
| LiTone lightsheet microscopy system | Champion | Light Innovation Technology Ltd |
| Infanity3D | 1st Runner up | MatrixSense Technology Group Limited |
| Cellomics | 2nd Runner up | Cellomics International Limited |
| Airluna | Top 10 | ASA Innovation & Technology Limited |
| Genetic hair loss prevention technology | Top 10 | Gen Biotechnology Limited |
| HyperBanker | Top 10 | Lenovo Machine Intelligence Center |
| Automatic medicine dispensing machine | Top 10 | Novelin Limited |
| Small compound based anti-hypertensive drug | Top 10 | PhrmaSec Limited |
| VAR Box | Top 10 | VAR Live International Limited |
| Anti-Contagion AI Suite for Extreme Crowds | Top 10 | WildFaces Technology Limited |
Group photo at the 2019 “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest - Hong Kong Chapter
The first Hong Kong Chapter was held in 2018. The champion of Hong Kong Chapter Novus’s project "Bone Injury Repair and Neutralization Solution Based on New Nano Biomaterials and X-ray Diagnosis" was awarded the annual global championship by defeating candidates from other regional chapters, winning a reward of USD 100,000 and attracting potential investment from leading enterprises.
