A record number of participants joined the 10th edition of Hong Kong Techathon+, an innovation and technology competition that allowed them to show off their talent and build connections.

This year's edition of Techathon+ – co-organised by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) – attracted about 1,900 participants from local, mainland and overseas universities.

The competition, which wrapped up at the weekend, offered mentorships, investor exposure and pathways into incubation schemes, helping winning teams turn prototypes into real businesses and explore markets across the Greater Bay Area and beyond.

Thamires Pontes, CEO for Phycolabs – a Brazilian bio-materials start-up aiming to replace carbon-intensive materials by textile fibre made entirely from seaweed – said the event provided her with the opportunity to look for partners in Hong Kong.

"Be here for the Techathon, it's not about the prize, the money, it's about the connections. It's about to meet people, networking, understand how efficient is this environment," Pontes said.

Ryan Muir, co-founder of Bingage – an AI-powered smart project in Australia which aims to incentivise recycling for young people – sees the competition as an opportunity to build relationships, make connections and potentially win funding.

"They've given us an opportunity to learn here and we'd love nothing more than to help them with their landfills because we think that what we develop on this scale could absolutely be effectual in Australia, could be effectual in most island nations and anywhere around the world that is taking the circular economy seriously," Muir said.

Miguel Pombo, founder of Azores Life Science, a Portuguese life sciences company which develops marine-based solutions to address ageing-related health challenges, said drug development processes are significantly faster in Hong Kong thanks to access to advanced research facilities and skilled personnel.

He also described the SAR as the premier gateway to China.

"To enter the China market from Hong Kong, I think it's the smartest thing to do, because all the population speaks English fluently, and unfortunately we do not speak Mandarin. It's a big problem for us."

Pombo also said the trip to Hong Kong was fruitful because he was able to secure financing, development and testing partners.