What a vibrant city and community we had the chance to experience last week together with angel investors and project partners from six countries: Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Slovenia, Poland and the United States.
Portugal, populated by around 10 million inhabitants, counts approximately 28,000 people working in startups, has seven Portuguese-DNA unicorns and roughly 40 Portugal-related scaleups. Flagships you may know include FARFETCH, OutSystems, Talkdesk, Feedzai, Remote, Sword Health and Anchorage Digital.
We began with two and a half days of getting our bearings on how to build relationships and invest in Portugal. Startup Portugal opened the trip with a concise overview of the ecosystem. We then visited Impact Hub Lisbon, a community focused on sustainability and the circular economy, and listened to pitches from the LX Circular two-year program that powers circular solutions in Lisbon. From 50 participants we met six greentech teams, and our investors cross-examined the founders with many thoughtful questions.
Startups that pitched to us:
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Trash4Goods, a gamified app to reduce waste and boost recycling
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Upswag, merch produced from recycled materials
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Last Call, citywide rental of power banks
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Matterpieces, tiles, countertops and new materials from construction waste
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RVRT, recycling and repurposing camping gear
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BUTTER, bio-bedding designed to soothe people and the planet
It was refreshing to see a breadth of cleantech and non-IT startups, which is less common in Estonia where the pipeline is strongly IT-centric.
Then we met Portugal Ventures and Banco Português de Fomento (BPF), Portugal’s sovereign development bank serving companies. Their message was clear: they are open to international cooperation, while keeping a strong priority on investing back into Portugal, creating jobs and ensuring funded companies contribute to the country.
We also visited the Unicorn Factory Lisboa, Ground Capital and Core Angels. Ground Capital’s session stood out for its candid discussion on what VCs look for – above all teams, founders and exceptional people. Core Angels introduced the model of angel funds and angel groups within one network, followed by another round of pitches and Q&A. At Schilling VC where Pedro Ramalho Carlos walked us through the modern VC mindset. We enjoyed insightful dialogue and unforgettable views across Lisbon.
The entire group left grateful to our hosts and new acquaintances in Portugal.
To sum up – what we learned?
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Portugal’s startup ecosystem is strong and mission-driven. Investors and institutions care deeply about channeling capital back into Portugal, supporting local jobs and backing companies that create tangible value for the country and society.
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The sector mix is broader than in Estonia. Alongside IT and deep tech, we saw ad-tech, retail, consumer goods and B2C startups. While Estonia’s ecosystem is anchored in IT, many markets operate with a wider sector approach, reflecting where their capital and expertise originate.
And a final reminder: meaningful investing benefits from perspective. You build better when you have travelled, observed how different economies operate and how people think.
Explore the study trip gallery below.
Connect2Scale Study Trip is supported by the European Union. Project partners: Finnish Business Angels Network (FiBAN), Business Angels of Slovenia, Latvian Business Angels Network (LatBAN), Lithuanian Business Angel Network (LitBAN), Estonian Business Angels Network (EstBAN) and Civitta.
Read more about our previous study trips:
