What is the Portugal Startup Nation? – Opinion

Por Long van Novak

Portugal is in the intersection between talent and possibilities. It has universities, foresight founders and special geographical location. However, the growth of the startup ecosystem is still low in its potential. Without a strong and strategic government support, there is a risk of bright ideas going – or dies on the beach. Countries like the United Kingdom and Singapore have been perceived over the years, Portugal has yet to put into practice: the innovation is not only good ideas, but also with the public courage to invest them.

What’s not? There is talent. Even thoughts. There is a shortage of patient capital, especially in the early stages of early development. Investing in innovation takes risk and often private investors can prevent these uncertainties. Then the state of the state comes to the forefront of the danger, creating an incentive and coating mechanisms that give the Portuguese startups the opportunity to prove their value.

France, in partnership with the Public Bank Bip France with the “Law French Tech” movement, created a powerful ecosystem with thousands of startups, tax incentives and acceleration programs. Singapore and South Korea follow similar routes, betting on infrastructure, technical education and intelligent public capital. United Kingdom bet on creating a set of incentives at a tax level for investors in innovation

The results speak to themselves: the generation of qualified jobs, increased tax income, world talent attraction, retaining young people and dynamization of the entire region. Examples of how London, Seoul and Paris can change the economies today.

I believe that the government has three major roles in this process: 1 –

Attract private investment to the ecosystem

How to draw investment policies and tax reliefs that bring more traditional investors and high -assault people to invest in the innovation sectors? This is to reduce the risk to the investor by co-resistant policies, tax incentives or public-private-risk capital funds. It is necessary to inject the capital into the environmental system, but in the most effective and adopted way to the reality of startups, it works faster and has limited human resources. This process should be simple with quick decisions and effective implementation. In addition, it is essential to think about the attraction of international investment. And access to this financing must be democratic – everyone in the ecosystem must have access to knowledge and opportunities. 2 – 2 – Attract peopleBe active members

The ecosystem

We need to arouse the interest of students in creating companies and encourage college researchers to turn subsidized research into value to society – and the most effective way to do this through the creation of knowledge -based startups. How to attract professionals to startups found in Portugal? How to use the tech industry as a bridge to bring back eligible Portuguese immigration? The talent plays a major role in the engine of the ecosystem, and its activation. 3 –

Attract international startups and entrepreneurs to settle in Portugal

We have obvious competitive advantages: the quality of life, breathing and strategic location. But to become really attractive, we need to communicate with these benefits, create softlanding programs, speed up visa processes, and make it easier to connect with the local ecosystem.

Portugal has a special chance to keep the Innovation Hub in South Europe. But it takes courage for it. More prestigious public policies, public-private investment funds, tax incentive programs and structural institutional support.

The future of Portugal goes through the innovation. And the innovation goes through the brave public decisions that make the initial ecosystem as national priority. The moment of acting is now.