Lisbon, October 9th, 2018 - Entries are now open for the 9th edition of the Montepio Acredita Portugal Entrepreneurship Competition. Promoted by Acredita Portugal and Caixa Económica Montepio Geral (CEMG), it is the largest entrepreneurship competition in Portugal and the second largest in the world, and aims to identify, develop and reward ideas and projects from different sectors, such as social entrepreneurship, mobility and technology, accepting ideas from any area. In the last edition, more than 11,000 business ideas were in the running.

The initiative aims to support anyone with a business idea, regardless of age, level of education or location in Portugal, by supporting promising projects with specialized know-how for their development and evaluation. The best projects have direct contact with investors, experts and mentors, as well as access to personalized training and the opportunity to join a pre-acceleration program.

Entries can be submitted online, free of charge, until the 20th January 2019 through the acreditaportugal.pt. The selection process begins with an analysis of the market and the business model of the hundreds of ideas in the competition, then the candidates go through successive stages of development, analysis of the marketing plan and financial plan until the presentation of the project in pitch format, where the winners of each category are chosen.

For Fernando Amaro, Director of CEMG's Social Economy and Public Sector segment, "Montepio Acredita Portugal is an excellent vehicle for boosting impact entrepreneurship. More and more people are looking for and finding in entrepreneurship a way to develop solutions for society."

An idea shared by Fernando Fraga, Innovation Director at Acredita Portugal: "The candidates we contact are better informed, have a different vision of opportunities and are also more demanding in their search for platforms to boost their business idea. Acredita Portugal has teamed up with leading partners to provide a support and acceleration network that facilitates the go-to-market process for entrepreneurs and people with transformative ideas and the potential for impact."

Further information is available at www.acreditaportugal.pt

About Caixa Económica Montepio Geral:

Founded in 1844, Caixa Económica Montepio Geral is a retail bank that stands out for its mutualist matrix and represents the values of associative participation and solidarity, which gives it a unique status on the Portuguese banking scene. It is dedicated to attracting savings and lending to individuals, sole proprietors, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as third sector institutions. Making a difference in order to go further is at its core, which translates into the signature "Only a different bank takes us further".

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 José Miguel Queimado. Since then, Acredita Portugal has worked by and for all Portuguese people, regardless of their background or culture, allowing any citizen the opportunity to pursue their entrepreneurial dream. Each idea in the competition is submitted free of charge, undergoes an evaluation and sees its business plan developed. Winning projects are given the opportunity to develop strategic partnerships with a view to implementing them on the market.

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