João Lopes Aleixo

📈 In July, Portugal registered 32,422 new companies, a 0.8% increase compared to last year. This growth reflects the country's sustained entrepreneurial momentum, even in a challenging economic environment. 📍The North region led in new business registrations, followed by Oeste and Vale do Tejo. In contrast, Lisbon, the Algarve and Setúbal experienced declines in company creation. Business closures fell to 5,963, showing greater business resilience, while insolvencies dropped by 8.3%, particularly in the textile and fashion industries. 💼 These results underline Portugal's dynamic business environment and appeal for new ventures, with emerging opportunities across multiple sectors and regions. 🔍

126

On Monday, Mario Draghi sounded the alarm once again: Europe’s future role in the world depends on innovation, yet the pace of reform is far too slow. Only ~10% of the measures identified last year have actually been implemented. It is about this wake up call for Europe and Portugal that I shared my reflections in an article in Expresso: 🔹 Europe has a major gap to the US: fewer than 25% of unicorns, and fewer than a third of patent filings. 🔹 Fragmented markets and excessive bureaucracy push talent and private capital away, limiting our ability to generate and retain innovation. 🔹 Europe, and Portugal, need ambitious structural change — fewer barriers, a true single innovation market, and incentives to private funding. At Unicorn Factory Lisboa, we have been taking strong actions: helping scaleups grow internationally, connecting international ecosystems, and building communities around future-critical technologies, like AI. European institutions and national governments need to commit to real change urgently. The proposed 28th regime is the first step, as advocated by many innovation leaders, including Simon Schaefer, Ricardo Marvão 🇵🇹🇫🇷 and Roxanne VARZA, who posted recently about this. 👉 You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/db5yYzQg #Innovation #Europe #Startups #Scaleups #PublicPolicy #Tech #EU #UnicornFactoryLisboa

206

13 comentários

A bit more than 50% of Europeans read at least one book in the past 12 months, according to Eurostat.* This week, I had the pleasure of participating in the third Book 2.0 Apel conference, organised in Lisbon, by the Associação Portuguesa de Editores e Livreiros (APEL) - a very active member of the Federation of European Publishers/Fédération des éditeurs européens. It was inspiring to join policymakers, publishers, authors, educators, researchers – and book lovers! - coming together to discuss #TheFutureOfReading. The President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa brought his passion for books centre stage when he depicted them as much more than that: an opening to pluralism, to freedom, to democracy, enriching the capacity to understand others in an irrational world. Some of my takeaways from this vibrant event: 📖 Literacy is existential. It equips citizens with critical thinking skills, resilience – even happiness! - and civic responsibility. 🌐 Digital and AI, used and framed right, can offer precious support to readers and writers. Technology can transform how books are created, shared, and enjoyed. Ensuring access and inclusivity remains essential, and human-centric AI can be a powerful ally, a gateway to collective intelligence. 🤝 Choice and personalisation matter – Choosing what we read shapes who we are. We must allow especially young people, to make their own reading choices, spark their curiosity and give them the desire and motivation to read. All of this is central to the European Commission’s work. Literacy is a basic skill under pressure, having declined over the last 10 years, alongside math, science and even digital basic skills. This is why speeding up action to defuse this ticking bomb is central for the #UnionOfSkills initiative led by Executive Vice-President Roxana Minzatu. As one of 18 concrete steps in our Basic Skills Action Plan, an EU Literacy Coalition will launch in 2026, bringing together schools, publishers, libraries, and governments to boost literacy and inspire young people to read. An EU Teachers and Trainers Agenda will support educators, recognising their key role in cultivating a culture of reading and healthy digital habits. Through our #CreativeEurope programme, the EU promotes the production and dissemination of books in multiple languages, connecting generations and fostering cultural diversity. The European Union Prize for Literature and the European Authors Day contribute to a richer European literature offer across Europe and beyond. Looking ahead, a strengthened Erasmus+ programme, the future Culture Compass and the AgoraEU programme will help turn the tide on literacy - to make books and reading cool again! Learn more about how the EU supports books, reading and literacy: 👉https://europa.eu/!XcgxjT 👉https://lnkd.in/e8rjMErP *based on Eurostat data from 2022 Photo credits (8/9): @APEL🙏

97

4 comentários

FLEXnCONFU is more than an innovation milestone. It is the first time hydrogen has been produced and successfully blended with natural gas in an industrial turbine of its kind in Portugal, validating the concept in real operation. Led by EDP and a consortium of 21 partners across 10 countries, with the European Commission’s Horizon Europe framework, this project showcases the transition from ambition to concrete impact, turning Ribatejo into a live European test bed for hydrogen and flexible power-to-X solutions. This new video captures the spirit of collaboration and technological progress that is shaping the next generation of decarbonised energy systems in Europe. Every step reflects the power of partnership and the shared vision for reliable, sustainable energy across the continent. Be part of this journey towards Europe’s energy transition. #EDPWeChooseEarth #Hydrogen #FLEXnCONFU

155

4 comentários

Positive Materials brings together scientists, product developers, and production specialists to create low-impact textiles through collaboration, innovation, and a fully integrated supply chain. Based in Portugal, their lab and factory work side by side with global partners and forward-thinking brands to turn sustainable ideas into scalable solutions. It’s time to think Smart at PV Paris in our next September edition. This time we’re going deep into the worlds of innovation and technology. Jorge Miguel Ribeiro https://lnkd.in/eDppqd7Q

75

5 comentários

🇵🇹 The Portuguese startup ecosystem achieves a new milestone! BRAINR, a Leiria-based foodtech startup, has secured up to €11M in Portugal’s largest ever seed round, led by C2 Capital Partners. 📊 Its digital brain for food factories is already powering over 25% of the country’s meat production, cutting shipping errors by 95% and driving greater efficiency. 🚀 With plans to grow from 24 to 100 employees in the next 12 months, Brainr is now expanding into seafood, bakery, confectionery, beverages and beyond – scaling innovation at the heart of Europe’s food industry. 👉 Read more about this round here: https://lnkd.in/dW6vFUPC

137

5 comentários

🌱 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 At Sonae Sierra, sustainability is at the core of how we create long-term value. That is why we are proud to join Re_Source 4.0, an innovation program led by Sociedade Ponto Verde in collaboration with Beta-i • collaborative innovation. This open call invites startups and innovators to co-develop impactful pilot projects that tackle systemic challenges in the packaging waste value chain, turning ambitious goals into real-world solutions. 🚀 This year’s missions focus on: · Recycling 75% of glass in Portugal by 2030, with a special focus on HORECA (Hotels, Restaurants, Cafés). · Reducing packaging waste per capita by 5% until 2030, by mobilizing consumers, brands and distribution. · Digitalizing and integrating information flows by 2034, strengthening traceability, efficiency and intelligence. As a pilot partner, Sierra will offer startups the chance to test and co-develop solutions directly within the assets we manage, transforming challenges into scalable innovations that benefit businesses, communities, and the planet. 📅 Applications are open until the 17th of October. 👉 Ready to take on this challenge? Find out more with the link in the comments.  

40

1 comentário

🚨 Science at a Crossroads in Portugal? - Opinion of Mario Figueiredo Público recently invited politicians, intellectuals, and academics to reflect on the government’s proposal to merge the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) with the National Innovation Agency (ANI). The responses collected reveal a common concern: the haste of the decision, taken without consulting an independent advisory body or listening to the scientific community. The project (still lacking clarity) seems to prioritize innovation, while sidelining fundamental research and giving precedence to the hard sciences over the social sciences and humanities. Among those interviewed, Mário Figueiredo, our senior researcher and Full Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico, warned of the risks of subordinating science to innovation: “Subordinating science to innovation condemns the future and dries up the source of disruptive knowledge. Technological progress without a deep understanding of the human condition is an intolerable risk. The social sciences and the humanities are essential pillars of developed societies: they provide critical tools to face the ethical, social, and cultural dilemmas posed by technology.” He also recalled the words of leading tech figures: Mark Zuckerberg: “The success of Facebook is as much about psychology and sociology as it is about technology.” Steve Jobs: “Technology alone is not enough; it is technology married with the liberal arts and humanities that yields results that delight us.” From Brian Chesky (Airbnb, Industrial Design) to Whitney Wolfe Herd (Bumble, International Studies), Stewart Butterfield (Slack, Philosophy), and even the non-linear paths of Zuckerberg (Psychology + CS) and Bill Gates (Law), the lesson is clear: innovation thrives when nourished by diverse fields of knowledge. 👉 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/dFHQ-_Pt #Press #Article #FCT #ANI #Science #Tecnology #Innovation #Opinion

93

1 comentário