The 21 finalists of the 9th edition of the Montepio Acredita Portugal competition have already been chosen.

The competition includes social entrepreneurship, mobility, technology, communication and sustainability projects.

Lisbon, April 23, 2019 - The 21 finalist projects in the Montepio Acredita Portugal competition, promoted by Acredita Portugal and Banco Montepio, are now known.

The 21 finalists are:

Social Entrepreneurship:

- Hug-a-Group - A community platform focused on mental health that combines group activities and the guidance of professionals to provide the best solution for the user.

- "Pata D'Açúcar" - A project that combines two social causes: reducing animal abandonment and increasing the quality of life of people with diabetes. On the one hand, it contributes to reducing the rate of animal abandonment by rehoming shelter dogs, training them to detect low blood glucose levels in advance and then handing them over to people with diabetes.

- "Stimula+" - Creating games to develop various cognitive and/or motor skills for the adult and senior population, with or without neurological or neurodegenerative pathologies. It is preferably aimed at for-profit and non-profit organizations, but also at professionals who work directly or indirectly with this type of population.

Brisa Mobility Award 2019:

- "Parqist" - Application developed to help users quickly find a parking space. Users share the location of their parking space when they intend to make it available, allowing others to locate it easily and take advantage of it. In addition, a compensation system is applied, in that the more spaces a user makes available, the more advantages they will have when looking for a place to park.

– "SAFY: your safety in urban mobility" - SAFY wants to create a product that can be combined with various types of electric vehicles (bicycles/scooters/segways). Since safety and signage are scarce in these vehicles, this product combined with an innovative service is intended to be a solution to the problem.

– "Call Car Wrist" - Bracelet to call cabs and ensure customer safety based on parameters defined on the bracelet.

K.Tech. Award

- "Alfredo" - Artificial intelligence technology created to organize and bring clarity to the real estate market.

- "Nutshell" - Online accommodation exchange platform that gives digital nomads the opportunity to eliminate accommodation costs while living in cities locally and according to their needs and/or work interests.

– "PillDeal - Irregular medication, such as the pill or chronic medication, has negative consequences for the patient. PillDeal aims to manage medication in a simple, portable and discreet way, because it prevents forgetfulness and provides specific medical recommendations.

Autónoma Award:

- "School.Cinema.Action!" - The School.Cinema.Action! project aims to use cinema as a learning tool, contributing to the education of younger audiences and increasing visual literacy and social inclusion.

- "School of meaning" - It's an online magazine or manual, with audios, readings and exercises to stimulate emotional intelligence and develop an emotional language.

- "Workload" - Online recruitment portal dedicated to finding and offering jobs in the communications, marketing, design and new technologies sectors.

H2O Innovation Award by Águas de Gaia:

- "Micro Catch" - Technology that combats the presence of microplastics in the water and food we eat. It is a solution that retains the fibers released by your synthetic garments during the washing process, thus preventing them from spreading to the oceans.

- "Agristarbio" - It is testing fertilizers from sewage sludge and is in the negotiation phase to build and finance its first plant.

- "SCUBIC" - Intelligent platform that improves asset management in water networks.

Products and services:

- "KACAU" - The first Portuguese underwear brand specializing in lingerie, tights, stockings and leather accessories for brown women.

- "iRcycle - Custom Handmade Sneakers" - It transforms plastic collected from the oceans into sneakers customized by the customer, and can use other recycled and ecological materials.

- "Swim Together": It aims to sell training and vacation packages for lovers of Open Water Swimming. Whether in the sea, lakes, rivers or reservoirs, anyone can swim in freedom, safely and with company, in unique natural locations, through a close experience, e informed, socially and environmentally responsible for the swimmer. All activities are accompanied by experienced guides who provide support to swimmers in boats and/or kayaks.

Health and well-being:

– "Seaweet" - Marketing snacks with high nutritional value, from a key food - microalgae. The initial product - an energy bar - is especially important for improving the diet of those who live at a fast pace and don't have time to prepare a healthy snack.

– "Me +" – Smartwatch which, through pictograms, shows information previously programmed into the App, which is managed by health professionals, caregivers or themselves. It assesses 4 vital signs, notifies about positioning for the bedridden, medication and food interactions, appointments, SOS and falls.

– "e-Rehab - Tool online which allows neuropsychological rehabilitation to be carried out remotely using virtual reality, favoring both cognitive stimulation and the psychosocial rehabilitation of people with acquired brain damage, people with degenerative disorders, etc.

 

These 21 projects have the opportunity to go through a six-week Pre-Acceleration Program. Each one has the right to a mentor and access to sessions run by specialists, which will cover topics such as: how to build an MVP (Minimum Viable Product), the legal framework for companies, Intellectual Property, Communication and Brand Positioning, Digital Marketing and Alternative Forms of Financing. There will also be a Demo Day for the finalists, to which a panel of investors will be invited.

The projects were selected at a pitch which had an expert panel of judges, including José Vale, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at IAPMEI, Nelson Pimenta, Digital Director at Grupo Renascença Multimédia, and Davide Catarino, Angel Investor at Red Angels.

In addition to these, other projects received honorable mentions for their high potential: Logrise, Maudde - Pre Loved Luxury, Erwin, Mães à obra, Cuidar&Morar, Banana Box and Fly For Water.

The finalists of the 9th edition of the Montepio Acredita Portugal competition will be announced at the initiative's final gala, which will take place on June 8, 2019, in Lisbon.

About Acredita Portugal:

Acredita Portugal is a non-profit organization focused on the development and promotion of national entrepreneurship, which was born in 2008 by the hand of José Miguel Queimado. Since then, Acredita Portugal has worked by and for all Portuguese, regardless of their background or culture, allowing any citizen to have the opportunity to pursue their entrepreneurial dream. Each idea in competition is submitted free of charge, undergoing an evaluation and seeing its business plan developed. Winning projects are given the opportunity to develop strategic partnerships with a view to their implementation in the market. Additional information available at www.acreditaportugal.pt