MAP Virtual Week
This edition of the Montepio Acredita Portugal Competition features a week of virtual presentations and roundtable discussions to explore the current landscape of entrepreneurship. The event brings together guest speakers to discuss topics such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, investment trends, the role of technology, and the challenges facing the social economy and sustainability.
This edition of the Montepio Acredita Portugal (MAP) competition—the country’s largest entrepreneurship competition and the second largest in the world—features, for the first time, “MAP Virtual Week,” a week of presentations, debates, and discussions on topics related to the entrepreneurial ecosystem and startups. Taking place from October 12 to 18 in a virtual format, MAP Virtual Week will be the first major initiative of its kind dedicated to the topic of entrepreneurship in the post-COVID-19 context in Portugal.
MAP Virtual Week includes a digital entrepreneurship fair where several of the projects supported in this 10th edition of the competition will be presented, as well as themed Meet Ups that bring together the various projects supported over the years of the initiative, held in collaboration with the Association’s main partners — Banco Montepio, KCS IT, Brisa, and Águas de Gaia. There will also be mentoring sessions, during which any project can receive support from Acredita Portugal and its network of mentors to evolve and accelerate its growth.
The “MAP Virtual Week” program includes open sessions that will allow anyone to ask questions of leading figures in Portugal’s entrepreneurship sector and webinars thematic sessions featuring speakers such as Tim Vieira (Brave Generation), Filipe Almeida (Portugal Inovação Social), Helena Maio (Portugal Ventures), and Miguel Pina Martins (Science4you), who will address topics such as:
- The Impact of COVID-19 on Portuguese Companies. What has been the real impact of COVID-19 on Portuguese companies? How long will it take for the market to recover? Will we ever go back to the way things were?
- Cron.Studio Mentoring Session with Diogo Bhovan: How Can I Test and Launch My Business Idea? An intensive session to help you design a plan to test and launch your business idea with greater speed, greater focus, and fewer risks. This session will be led by Diogo Bhovan, lead trainer and mentor at Montepio Acredita Portugal 2020, and CEO of Cron.Studio, a strategic partner of Acredita Portugal and a leading company in building tech products for startups.
- 2020: What opportunities has the economic and health crisis brought? Every crisis brings opportunities. What opportunities has COVID-19 created, and how can we capitalize on them over the next few years?
- The Role of the Social Economy in the “New Portugal.”. What does the future hold for the social economy in Portugal? What changes are taking place in the social sector, and how can organizations adapt to them? How important will the social sector be in building a “new Portugal”?
- Digital Transformation: How Can I Prepare My Company for the Economy 3.0? The world is changing, and digital transformation will alter the way all companies operate. How should I adapt my project to this new reality? What can I do now to prepare for the digital revolution?
- Portugal in the World: The Challenges of Internationalization. What are the biggest challenges facing the internationalization of companies in Portugal? In an increasingly digital world, how will Portugal be able to establish itself as a player relevant to global entrepreneurship?
- What comes after the Exit? A story “from the other side.”. To have a exit It’s every entrepreneur’s dream, but what happens next? How does it feel to wake up one day and no longer be involved in a project that “stole” so many years of our lives? What comes after the exit?
- SayU Mentoring: How do I tell my story? Exclusive one-on-one mentoring sessions tailored to your project, designed to help you tell your story to the media, partners, and other organizations. These sessions are developed in partnership with SayU, a strategic partner of Acredita Portugal and a leading company in the field of strategic communication and communications support.
- Tech to the rescue! The role of new technologies in transforming traditional businesses. What emerging technologies will change the way companies operate? How can new technologies help save traditional businesses?
- Support for Entrepreneurship: What programs are available, and how can I apply? What support is available for entrepreneurship in Portugal? How can I apply? Find out everything at a session organized in partnership with IAPMEI.
- I tried, but I failed. Now what? What happens if you fail? What happens when companies go out of business? Stories of entrepreneurs for whom failure was just a sign that they were trying.
- How do investors and Big Corp How do they view failure? After my company closes, can I try to raise investment again? How do investors view failure? And if I decide to go to a big corp? What will people think when they see on my resume that I spent so many years on a project that didn't work out?
- Inventa Mentoring: How Can I Protect My Intellectual Property? Exclusive one-on-one mentoring sessions tailored to your project, designed to help you protect your intellectual property. These sessions are offered in partnership with Inventa International, a strategic partner of Acredita Portugal and a leading firm in intellectual property protection.
- The Future of Mobility in the Portuguese Economy. What will mobility in Portugal look like 20 years from now? Will people still own their own cars, or will getting around become just another service we use? app? How do the startups And how can mobility companies help us prepare for this future?
- Entrepreneurship in Portugal: What Are the Next Steps? Entrepreneurship in Portugal has boomed in recent years. From local incubators to the Web Summit, Portugal has become a “Startup Nation.” What are the next steps for our ecosystem? Where should we focus our growth now?
- Why are there so few female CEOs? What accounts for the lack of female leadership in Portuguese companies? Is it that there aren’t enough opportunities for female executives to advance in their careers? How can this problem be solved?
- Prepare the pitch: So what do investors really want to hear? What should you know before you start looking for investment? Why do the Business Angels Why aren't they answering me? What am I doing wrong? After all, what does the investor want to hear?
- Finnova Mentoring: How to Access European Funds? Exclusive 1-on-1 mentoring sessions tailored to your project, designed to help you identify which European funds you can apply for and how to use European support to accelerate your growth. Sessions developed in partnership with Finnova, a strategic partner of Acredita Portugal and the European Commission in the launch and promotion of the new calls funding.
- Blue Entrepreneurship. Save the world and have a exit with a startup in the water industry. What challenges does the water treatment, distribution, and processing industry face? What problems can entrepreneurs solve in order to have a startup successfully while improving the lives of thousands of people?
The initiative is organized in partnership with Virtual Fair and developed by Media Invest. Registration is free and can be done at www.mapvirturalweek.pt.
About Acredita Portugal
The Montepio Acredita Portugal Competition is a nonprofit initiative that organizes the largest annual entrepreneurship competition in Portugal, featuring more than 10,000 entrepreneurial projects each year and supporting 90,000 projects. Through its partners, it helps boost companies or projects in their early stages, offering everything from mentoring and training to investment and numerous awards.
Acredita Portugal works for and on behalf of all Portuguese citizens, regardless of their background or culture, giving every citizen the opportunity to pursue their entrepreneurial dream. Each idea entered in the competition is submitted free of charge, undergoes an evaluation, and has its business plan developed. Winning projects are given the opportunity to develop strategic partnerships with a view to bringing them to market.