13 March 2015 - Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Philippe J. Lhuillier met with Mr. João Vasconcelos, the Executive Director of Startup Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal on March 03.
Commenting on his visit to Startup Lisboa, Ambassador Lhuillier said, “This is a very good program and concept that the Philippines can study and adopt. Under this concept, local government units and the business sector can help local Filipino talent by assisting them to become successful entrepreneurs and supporting them in the initial stages of establishing a successful business.”
Aside from learning about the program, Ambassador Lhuillier also discussed with Mr. Vasconcelos the possibility of establishing linkages between Startup Lisboa and similar entities or programs in the Philippines. Collaboration between Startup Lisboa and a Philippine counterpart would enable the development of gateways to regional markets for Philippine and Portuguese companies.
Mr. Vasconcelos said, “Startup Lisboa has been accepting applications from foreign companies wishing to establish a startup in Lisbon for the purpose of accessing the markets of Europe and the Portuguese speaking countries of Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique and São Tomé e Principe. Our organization is likewise interested to look at the potential of the Philippines as a gateway to East Asia for Portuguese startups. We welcome this opportunity to develop a relationship with the Philippines.”
Startup Lisboa is Lisbon’s top business incubator. It supports the creation of companies and track their first years of activity. Founded in 2011 by the Lisbon Municipality, Montepio Bank and the Portuguese Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (IAPMEI), Startup Lisboa provides entrepreneurs and companies in the technology, commerce and tourism sectors with office space; a support structure; mentoring links to strategic partners; access to angel investors, venture capital or loan funds; help with business basics; networking activities and communications infrastructure.
Startup Lisboa is a non-profit organization with the Mayor of Lisbon as the President and the heads of sponsoring entities as members of the Board. The organization has a pool of 50 mentors who also collectively serve as the Selection Board. Since its establishment in 2011, Startup Lisboa has received 3,000 applications with 200 startups currently being supported. END