PORTUGAL: EUROPE’S NEW INNOVATION HUB?
The Portugal Tech II program aims to mobilize €250 million of investments in technology transfer projects and Portuguese start-ups. The program was announced at the WebSummit by the Minister of State, Economy and Digital Transition of Portugal and European Investment Bank Vice President.
THE LARGEST STARTUP CONFERENCE: WEB SUMMIT
Every year Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, is home to one of the largest conferences in the world concerning world tech and innovation: The Web Summit. The main topics are Internet Technology, Venture Capital, and emerging technologies.
Besides being highly sponsored with aggressive marketing campaigns — both digital and with facilities all over the city, every year it attracts the best guest speakers and the most innovative startups from all over the world to share with the audience the latest trends, motivational speeches, and also to learn from the community themselves.
Source: Wikipedia
Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking are just two examples of the important people who have participated as guest speakers in past years.
Source: Evolving Science
CRYPTO AND CLIMATE CHANGE DOMINATED THE CONFERENCE
Although in the tragic year of 2020 the event was held online, in 2021, slight improvements regarding the pandemic meant that the event could take place on-site again in the first week of November.
With a total of 42,000 tickets sold, visitors from 128 countries (50% women), 1,500 startups, 70 unicorns, 870 investors, and 750 speakers, during this edition, among the many insights and inputs, two themes emerged as dominant: crypto and climate change.
LISBON: THE UNICORN FACTORY
Portugal, as a fact, is rapidly becoming a global technology hub with enormous potential in Europe (if not the world).
During his WebSummit opening speech, Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas quoted “I think about innovation, I tell everyone, my dream is for Lisbon to become the innovation capital of the world. We have to be able to make companies stay in Lisbon. That’s why I promise that we will create a place where dreams become reality. It will be a “Unicorn Factory.” It will be a place where young people turn their ideas into great businesses, creating jobs. Changing the world. I’ll tell you one last thing: Lisbon is the place to be for those who want to do.”
To support startups attending the Lisbon Web Summit, the “Portugal Tech” fund was created in collaboration with the European Investment Fund.
In addition to having the advantage of low taxes, the government provides many incentives and visas to facilitate the entry of new businesses from abroad.
And if you don’t speak Portuguese, no problem! Portugal is the seventh country in the world where English is the most spoken language — not to mention the fact that it is the third safest country in the world and highly ranked for the quality of life and hospitality.
Source: Collegiate
At Trusted Corporation we continuously work to add value to the Japanese innovation ecosystem, building a bridge with Europe, by creating startup communities, and contributing to the future by supporting companies. We help large companies and startups collaborate for open innovation, with the vision to accelerate innovation.
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Valeria Morone
Marketing & Communication
Trusted Corporation
