Year 2 students enrolled on the Tourism Retail and Marketing Management Bachelor’s Degree Programme visited the Macao Young Entrepreneur Incubation Centre to learn more about how it supports young locals in starting businesses
A delegation of Year 2 students attended the Macao Young Entrepreneur Incubation Centre (MYEIC) in April 2023. The aim of the visit by undergraduates from the English-language stream of IFTM’s Bachelor of Science in Tourism Retail and Marketing Management programme was to familiarise them with the centre’s work.
MYEIC offers various forms of support and training schemes to promote entrepreneurship in Macao, particularly among young people. It provides consulting services, training and guidance, expert advice, road-show marketing, and a matching service for those seeking capital investment.
The students on the visit were all taking the Marketing Channel and Distribution course, led by Lecturer Ms. Belina Lei.
MYEIC runs round-the-clock, assisting Macao’s innovators and entrepreneurs in contributing to the city’s economic development. It is in the NAPE district. The centre, with a total area of 1,300 square metres, include shared office space for entrepreneurs, as well as a lecture hall and a road show hall, each with space for up to 60 people.
The Macao SAR Government launched the MYEIC project in 2015. The centre is currently managed by Parafuturo de Macau Investment and Development Ltd.
As part of the visit, MYEIC organised a sharing session for the students, featuring guest speaker Ms. Connie Liu, co-owner of multimedia-related business CEffect Cultural Media Macau Ltd. Ms. Liu shared insights into how she and her business partner started their venture, and discussed differences in the media and cultural landscapes across distinct parts of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, including Macao, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Nansha.
During the talk, Ms. Liu elaborated on the company’s business presence within the Mainland, and its strategies for cooperating with online influencers, an important example of a ‘key opinion leader’ or KOL. She highlighted in particular the influence among Chinese consumers of online platforms such as Xiaohongshu (“Little Red Book” or “Red” in English). Additionally, Ms. Liu presented a project developed by her company, promoting IFTM’s admission campaign for the academic year 2022/2023 via social media platforms TikTok and WeChat.
The field trip concluded with a tour of MYEIC facilities.
Katherine Chen, one of the students on the visit, described the experience as a “meaningful activity” that allowed participants to acquaint themselves with a “place where you can start your dream” project, and which offered a “great environment” and “inspiration”.
Fellow undergraduate Marco Ho commended the concept of the centre, stating that it could provide greater entrepreneurial opportunities to people in Macao, helping them achieve their business goals at a lower cost and therefore enabling them to direct funds to expansion of their projects.
Whitney Lai, another student on the visit, mentioned that Ms. Liu’s talk had taught her a lot about local business development and how the Macao Government supports young adults in starting a business. She said it also increased her awareness of the different channels available for entrepreneurs to advance their ventures.
The Marketing Channel and Distribution course covers how to engage with customers via multiple marketing channels, allowing students to understand in detail the differences between omnichannel and multichannel approaches. The course also covers the establishment of distribution systems that allow customers to access and purchase a marketer’s product effectively and efficiently.
