An innovative company linked to image and another in the area of renewable energies. These should be the first inhabitants of the new business incubator «Startup Portimão», which this Thursday, 10th of August, officially opened its doors, at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.
In all, on two floors of the circuit complex, 12 rooms were created, here called boxes (referring to the usual terms in the world of motorsport), with capacity for 40 jobs. «Companies can stay in a box only with your company or share it with other entrepreneurs and other entrepreneurs», revealed to journalists Luís Matos Martins, from the company Territórios Criativos, one of the three partners of this first incubator for startups from the Western Algarve.
For now, the incubator is still taking its first steps, but if, in the future, more space is needed, "there is this possibility of expansion", guaranteed the person in charge.
This structure to welcome young companies will be directed towards “smart cities” (Smart cities), in the areas of energy, mobility, tourism, governance and quality of life. But, he announced, "no business will be rejected", even if it is not included in the preferential group.
As "an incubator is not just walls", the objective is to attract startups and entrepreneurs, as well as businesses and entrepreneurs. "What we want to do is make the whole ecosystem work", bringing together "people who are just starting out, but also entrepreneurs with more experience". Only in this way will it be possible to «create networks to create businesses», added Luís Matos Martins.
As for the location of the incubator, outside the city center of Portimão and in a more peripheral area, the official underlined the importance of taking advantage of the «many synergies that can be developed with the Autodromo».
In turn, Isilda Gomes, president of the Portimão Chamber, who is the second partner of this incubator for startups, announced that, soon, «the Vai Vem will start passing» by the Autodromo, extending one of its lines, which currently reaches the neighboring village of Pereira. But there are also "other mobility possibilities that we are studying", he added.
Paulo Pinheiro, administrator of Parkalgar, the company that owns the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, made a point of stressing that this entity – which is the third partner of the incubator – does not receive “a penny” with the provision of space for this initiative. The two floors of the circuit complex were provided free of charge, on a lending basis.
And what advantages will the Autodromo have then? Paulo Pinheiro recalled that this structure is already used throughout the year by global companies, some of them at the forefront of innovation, to test their products here, particularly in terms of cars and motorcycles. And these companies may even have an advantage in working with startups that settle in the new incubator, while the opposite is also true.
The administrator even mentioned the example of a company in the image area, which should soon be installed at «Startup Portimão», and which «will work for our customers».
At the moment, he added, Volkswagen is at the Autodromo de Portimão, with a team of 48 people, doing track tests in autonomous driving, to develop the cars of the future, which will not need a driver. In fact, the engineer responsible for this super specialized area of research in the automotive world was present at the launch of the incubator and made a point of explaining, in general terms, the work of his team.
«We Portuguese are smart, sometimes we just need a little push. And this incubator wants to be that little push», stressed Paulo Pinheiro.
Mayor Isilda Gomes would also share that the opening of «Startup Portimão» is «the realization of a dream». "This is the result of a combination of various wills and the determination of Paulo Pinheiro, Territórios Criativos, the City Council and its workers, who in recent days were here for many hours so that everything was ready."
In the space of this incubator, everything was done, even in terms of decoration, to encourage creativity and the sharing of ideas. In one of the corners, there's even a table tennis table, to relax. «And if someone, while playing here, has an idea and wants to point it out, they can do it immediately» on the small blackboard on the wall, whose main function is to point out the points of the games, explained Luís Matos Martins.
Further on there is a dining room, where, once again, there is space to socialize and share ideas. And, in addition to a more formal meeting room, there is another room where you can talk comfortably on sofas and a third space where there are Pilates balls and other less conventional seating. After an intense day of work, «we'll be here to have a beer together».
The entire space has a character of irreverence and creativity, even in small details of the decoration: the dining room is called the “pit stop”, once again connecting to the Autodromo, since, as Paulo Pinheiro hastened to explain , this is the place where vehicles are refueled on the track, there are wooden fruit boxes in the rooms, “to help you think outside the box”. And the walls are decorated with magnificent black and white photos by João Mariano, about shellfish collectors in the neighboring Ria de Alvor.
Luís Matos Martins also announced that this incubator is already dealing with its certification, so that it can start assigning vouchers incubation and other support for new companies. The structure will also promote training programs for its members and events and initiatives, aimed at the interior, but also the exterior. The aim of all this is, he insisted, «to create networks among entrepreneurs», since it is from these networks that many of the business opportunities arise.
With institutional partners IAPMEI and IEFP, «Startup Portimão» is now open to applications from entrepreneurs. Click here to find out more about the incubator and its project, and to contact those responsible for it.
“We want many young entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs here. And if there are more than 40, we will come up with ideas for the expansion of this space», concluded Isilda Gomes.
Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues|Sul Informação and Filipe da Palma|CMP
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