PORTO
In Porto there is an ecosystem in place where the city is a central hub, making it easier for the stakeholders to connect and to support new, innovative companies to be created and to scaleup – academia, corporate, incubators and R&D Centers, investors and communities. The city is attaching special importance to measures, at a city scale, to strengthen the local innovation ecosystem and to network them at local, regional, national, and international levels. It is always important to keep those who think and those who act committed to the evolution needed to achieve the economic and social development we so much aspire to. As a Municipality, Porto has teamed up with the innovation agents in the city and launched ScaleUp Porto which is a strategy that commits the city towards the promotion of the ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship. With a novel and integrated vision of the scaleup process, we are developing the sustainability of the ecosystem, enhancing the economic competitiveness of the region, creating employment, and improving the citizens’ quality of life. With ScaleUp Porto and many innovation agents in the ecosystem, we have been supporting tech communities and companies, promoting knowledge sharing, supporting the development of talent, and connecting markets and the ecosystem to funding opportunities.