Startups & Investment Matching | About
Porto proudly hosts one of the most vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystems in Europe:
- A thriving community of 900+ startups with 50,000+ employees;
- Key sectors including software development, healthcare, and marketing;
- 10 unicorns with tech offices in Porto.
A prominent hub for talent creation and research and development (R&D):
- More than 80 higher education institutions and R&D centres with 12,500+ researchers;
- #1 Portuguese region with the most patents and private R&D investment;
- University of Porto securing 1st position in Portugal’s Entrepreneurial University Ranking 2023.
The region attracts significant investment:
- Influx of 985M€+ invested in startups from 2018 to 2022;
- More than 90 national and international investors actively engaged in the region.
Portugal ranks top positions in several international ranking, e.g.:
- 6th most attractive country for foreign investment according to EY Survey ́23;
- 7th most peaceful country in the world among 163 countries according to the Global Peace Index;
- 7th in Quality of Life according to Expat Insider 2023.
Investment in startups grew from 30M€/year (in 2015) to 1,5B€/year (2021).
New Startup Law 21/2023, May 25th including:
- Startup Definition (<10 years, <50M€ rev./year, <250 workers);
- Scaleup Definition;
- New Tax Regime for Stock Option Plans (14% effective rate at liquidity moment).
More than 100 incubators certified by Startup Portugal all over the country.
Startup Portugal is a non-profit organization with the mission to develop activities of public interest to promote entrepreneurship, in close collaboration with public and private entities within the national ecosystem.