The Minister of State, Economy and Digital Transition, Pedro Siza Vieira, and EIB Vice President Ricardo Mourinho Félix announced the Portugal Tech II program at the Web Summit.
The new program aims to mobilise €250 million of investments in technology transfer projects and Portuguese start-ups.

Today, the Portuguese Minister of State for the Economy and the Digital Transition, Pedro Siza Vieira, and the EIB Vice-President, Ricardo Mourinho Félix, announced a renewed partnership at Web Summit, one of the largest and most influential tech events in the world. The program was developed by the European Investment Fund (FEI), an integral part of the EIB Group, in cooperation with Banco Português de Fomento (BPF), to support the development of the venture capital ecosystem in Portugal.

Building on the fruitful capitalisation partnerships between the EIF and BPF launched in the past three years, which include Portugal Tech I, Portugal Growth, and Portugal Blue, the new programme will be funded by a €50 million allocation from the Government, to be matched with an additional €50m from EIF managed resources.

Portugal Tech II aims to mobilise €250 million in venture capital investments to boost technology-transfer projects from universities and technology-based start-ups with high potential in areas such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, fintech, healthtech and cybersecurity, amongst others. Portugal Tech II will select venture capital funds managed by Portuguese private teams with relevant track-record in the venture capital, technology transfer and acceleration segments, provided that they are able to raise capital from private and institutional investors.

The new program is inspired by Portugal Tech I. Launched in 2018, the program successfully mobilised private capital and generated about five euros of investments for each euro of national funding. With an independent investment process and a fast execution capacity, the program partnered with some of Portugal’s most outstanding venture capital managers, including Indico Capital Partners, Armilar Venture Partners, and Faber Capital.

Through its funds, which are still at the investment stage, Portugal Tech I helped finance a long list of technology-based companies with Portuguese DNA, such as Bizay, Sword Health, Tonic App, iLof, Unbabel, Infraspeak, Casafari, Anchorage, Student Finance, Barkyn, Findster, Codacy, Raws, Ydata, and Eattasty.

The Minister of State for the Economy and Digital Transition, Pedro Siza Vieira, said that “building on the success of our partnership with the EIF, the continuation of Portugal Tech is testament to Portugal’s commitment to supporting a vibrant tech scene in our country, ensuring that companies continue to have access to sufficient funding and crowd-in private investments." The Minister also highlighted the scope of Portugal Tech, stating that it "will continue to support an environment where technology and innovation play central roles in the transformation of our economy."

“The EIB Group is Europe’s leading innovation investor and committed to backing the Portuguese venture capital ecosystem. Today’s agreement at Web Summit, Europe’s largest tech conference, in partnership with the Portuguese Government under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Plan, is excellent news for Portugal's founders and entrepreneurs,” said EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix. “Building on the European Investment Fund’s unique track record in supporting European tech hubs and unicorns, this initiative crowds in private investors resources and will help transform disruptive ideas into successful businesses that can give Portugal and Europe a leading edge in the global tech race.”

Portugal Tech II is already analysing investment proposals from eligible funds, and any new application should be submitted for EIF’s assessment here. The first fund is expected to be announced in 2022.

Background information:

About the EIF

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment.

About BPF

Banco Português de Fomento is the Portuguese national promotional bank. Its mission is to support Portugal’s economic and social development by creating and providing innovative and competitive solutions tailored to the needs and challenges of the business ecosystem, fostering an entrepreneurial spirit, enabling investment and job creation, and promoting sustainability and economic, social and territorial cohesion.

Press contacts:

EIF:

Lorenzo Squintani, tel.: +352 691 285 772, l.squintani@eib.org

Website: www.eif.org – Press office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org

BPF:

BPF Media Team media@bpfomento.pt

Daisy Rosario +351 917 912 634

Maria João Quintela +351 927 638 943

Website: www.bpfomento.pt