- Winners of the Banco Montepio Acredita Portugal edition announced on October 9.
- The 11th edition of the Banco Montepio Acredita Portugal competition saw 10,620 business ideas submitted.
- The initiative is taking place for the first time in the north, with the support of Vila Nova de Gaia City Council, open to the community and broadcast via the web at virtualweek.co.uk.
Lisbon, October 07, 2021 - The winners of the 11th edition of the Banco Montepio Acredita Portugal competition will be announced next weekend at a gala scheduled for Saturday, October 9, starting at 6 p.m. at the Manuel Menezes de Figueiredo Auditorium in Vila Nova de Gaia. The event will feature speeches by João Borga, Executive Board Member of the National Innovation Agency, Gaspar D'Orey, CEO of Dott, Isabel Neves, Investor and Vice-President of FNABA, Helena Maio, Advisor at Portugal Ventures, José Vale, Head of Innnovation at IAPMEI, among others.
For the first time, the Gala is taking place in the north, thanks to the partnership between Acredita Portugal and Vila Nova de Gaia City Council. The Association has an incubation space in the municipality, designed to provide support and tools to local entrepreneurs and those from this region of the country. There are two spaces in Gaia: one in the creative industries area and another geared towards technological entrepreneurship and the social economy.
The partnership is explained by Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues, Mayor of Vila Nova de Gaia, as “It's a very important investment. We want to attract people who work in this type of area, such as technology or the creative industries, as part of our investment in innovation. We want Gaia to be capable and to be a territory par excellence that welcomes ideas and entrepreneurs”.
The award categories reflect the comprehensive nature of the initiative, which aims to be a space for empowering entrepreneurship.
There are 21 finalists in the categories of:
- Social Entrepreneurship - IRIS Lab, Techtale, Yes We Can
- K.Tech - Inu Health, Kendir Studio, Job Coach
- Brisa Mobilidade 2021 - We Can Charge, Safety Car, We Park
- H2O Innovation - PWTECH, SWRS, Surfrec
- Gaia 3C - ROOture, From trash to luxury, i'm Ok App
- Montepio Acredita Portugal Award - Galerias São Rafael, Mum's Cooking, Oursland, Slow Vanity, Build Together, Mesque
A importance of the competition, Fernando Fraga, Director of Innovation at Acredita Portugal, explains the importance of promoting and supporting the development of these projects. “The enthusiasm we feel on the part of the participants in this edition is proof of the relevance of an initiative like this and its receptiveness among the entrepreneurial community. The aim of empowering these people to develop their project takes on greater expression at this point in the initiative, putting them in contact with entrepreneurs and specialists from a wide range of areas, who can provide them with invaluable knowledge and experience to overcome their next challenges. We're sure that these 21 finalists will come out of the competition even more capable of making their projects a success.”.
Fernando Amaro, director of the Social Economy and Public Sector area at Banco Montepio, says it is “t is with great pride that, as an Entrepreneurship Partner, Banco Montepio helps to maintain, realize and even evolve the initiative that most stimulates entrepreneurship in Portugal. Over the last five years of partnership, we have participated in the various dynamics of the initiative and this edition of the Competition will be no different. In this next acceleration phase of the competition, the 21 finalists will be able to count on a training session, organized by Banco Montepio, on financing and solutions designed for those who need financing for an idea and a business of their own. This competition helps to promote equal opportunities and a more inclusive and closer society and in times of pandemic our main goal is to contribute and make people and ideas grow, generate employment and, above all, create value for society.”.
The Banco Montepio Competition Believe in Portugal is the largest national entrepreneurship competition and the second largest in the world - having supported more than 100,000 projects in its 10 years of activity - and aims to identify, develop, reward and promote the launch of innovative ideas. Born to be a platform for encouraging entrepreneurship, Associação Acredita Portugal brings together experience, know-how and a network established over more than a decade to help find new directions in a climate of uncertainty, where everyone's commitment and contribution are essential.
About the Banco Montepio Acredita Portugal competition:
The Banco Montepio Acredita Portugal Competition is a non-profit initiative that organizes the largest annual entrepreneurship competition in Portugal, with more than 10,000 entrepreneurial projects every year and a total of 100,000 projects supported. Its partners help to boost companies or projects at an early stage, offering everything from mentoring and training to investment and numerous prizes.
The initiative is aimed at anyone who has a business idea but doesn't know how to implement it. Registration is free and prior training in entrepreneurship, gender or age are not relevant. The Banco Montepio Acredita Portugal competition aims to reward the best projects and help all Portuguese to develop their entrepreneurial ideas.
Additional information at www.acreditaportugal.pt