The Secretary of State for Digital Transition will participate, on May 5th, in the virtual closing, open to the public, of the 1st Online Acceleration Bootcamp of the Algarve, whose program includes the talk on Sustainable Development Goals and the panel “The future of Smart Cities”.
After the success of the first phase, held on April 21st and 22nd, the Algarve's 1st Online Acceleration Bootcamp will return on the 4th and 5th of May, when the 12th startups selected to present their pitches for evaluation by the panel of judges.
The closing session of the 1st Bootcamp, promoted by StartUp Portimão, will be open to the public and is scheduled for 15:00 on May 5, with the participation of André de Aragão Azevedo, Secretary of State for the Digital Transition, as well as Isilda Gomes, president of the Portimão City Council, and Teresa Preta , CEO of Creative Territories.
Part of the program is talk under the theme “SDG – Sustainable Development Goals”, by Pedro Neves, consultant at UNECE – United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and the panel “The future of Smart Cities”, which will include the presence of experts Cláudia Leitão, former Secretary of State for the Creative Economy of Brazil, Pedro Neves, António Bob Santos, from the National Innovation Agency and José Maia, founder of GMT Hospitality.
This is followed, at around 17:45 pm, the presentation of the 12 entrepreneurship projects selected for this Bootcamp, moving the startups chosen in activities such as creating immersive tourist experiences, web platforms and mobile applications related to accommodation management, parking and vehicle loading, tour guide and pet services.
Business areas are also covered as a cloud of educational documents, the consultancy of Branding and digital communication for luxury brands, a physical training center in the field of information technologies and an education, health and well-being project that explores the traditions and properties of the arbutus tree.
The projects will be evaluated by an international jury, composed of Ana Barjasic (CEO of Connectology), Buke Cuhadar (vice-president of Global Entrepreneurship Network), Daniel Neagoe-Bacanu (president of Forever for Europe Association), Francesco Berrettini (CEO of Algarve STP), Isabel Neves (president of the Business Angels Club of Lisbon), Miguel Barbosa (director of investment in Tourism at Portugal Ventures), Paulo Pinheiro (administrator of Parkalgar and CEO of Autódromo Internacional do Algarve) and Roberto Antunes (executive director of NEST – Tourism Innovation Center Portugal).
To register for online sessions open to the public, interested parties can click here.
+Plus investment program
On May 4th, at 9:30 am, a session open to the public will take place on “Impact Investing as a response to the local economy”, in which the Casa do Impacto project, by Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, and the program will be presented. “+Plus” investment fund, which distributes 500 thousand euros annually to support ideas with potential for social and environmental impact.
In this session, which will feature the participation of Inês Sequeira, director of this project, and Nelson Horta, coordinator of Casulo, social innovation incubator Loulé/Algarve, the importance of social innovations will be discussed. startups in the development of projects with potential for social and environmental impact in the context of the SDGs, as solutions to respond to the reality generated by Covid-19.
The moderation of the session will be in charge of Teresa Preta, CEO of Creative Territories.
This will be a day when all Bootcamp participants will finalize their presentations, through sessions of Speed Mentoring e Pitch Stations, during which entrepreneurs will receive feedbackk of a group of mentors, from the most diverse areas, in order to carry out the last adjustments before the final presentation scheduled for May 5th.
O Speed Mentoring The following mentors have already been confirmed: Bárbara Leão de Carvalho (Conscious Marketing Strategy), from Biovilla and businesses the Creative Territories; Carlos Cano Vieira, from ISMAT in terms of Business Strategy and Leadership; Carolina Travassos, from IAPMEI in the area of Financing and Incentives; Décio Correia, from Martínez-Echevarría & Ferreira Advogados, in the area of Corporate Governance; Erik Brits, in Investimento e Negócios, at RDE Investments; Frederico Lucas, in Rural Investment and Social Entrepreneurship, at Novos Povoadores; Hernâni Sousa, from Yellow Fish Travel for the Marketing and Sales area; José Maia, from GMT Hospitality for the Tourism and Hospitality area; José Roberto, from MRG – Society of Statutory Auditors, in Accounting, Auditing and Investment Projects; Maria Loureiro de Lemos, Eat.Drink.Discover for Branding, Marketing and Communication Strategy; Pedro de Sousa Santos, from Splendid Time Consultores and Mybizzconsulting, specialist in City Marketing; Raquel Melo, from Inboundware, at the level of Digital Marketing and Attraction Marketing; Ricardo Oliveira (Strategic Management and Investment), Ph.D in Engineering and Management (Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon), director of the Degree in Tourism Management at ISMAT and coordinator of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the School of Hospitality and Tourism in Portimao; Rudelee Merks, from Greenpoint Coworking, in Business Management; Susana da Gama Nunes and Luís Sommer Ribeiro, both from Gastão Cunha Ferreira, in Trademarks and Patents.
In terms of the balance of the first stage of Bootcamp, which took place on the 21st and 22nd of April, the organizers underline that, “after 21 intense hours, the final result could not be better: 12 startups, seven mentors, 13 talks, eight speakers and, of course, moments of Teamwork, Networking and a lot of sharing of experiences”, which will have constituted “a real success.”
The opening session was attended by João Gambôa, councilor of Portimão City Council, Paulo Pinheiro, administrator of Parkalgar and CEO of Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, and Luís Matos Martins, CEO of Creative Territories, for whom “we are in a phase of change, but it can also represent a good opportunity”, in which “we can make an impact on a project or a business”.
The Bootcamp took place on the Zoom platform and was attended by other speakers such as André Abreu, COO of Sensaway, João Pereira, professor at IPAM and Porto Business School and director of Portugal Ventures, Maria Loureiro de Lemos, CEO and co-founder of Eat .Drink.Discover, Paulo Andrez, President of Toys R Us Iberia Holdings and Teresa Preta, CEO of Creative Territories.
Considered as a fundamental part of the cycle that will follow the current pandemic, the business and entrepreneurial fabric is in a phase of adaptation.
Even so, there were 29 candidacies for Bootcamp, of which 12 were selected startups, in areas heavily affected by Covid-19, such as Smart Cities (in the categories of Tourism, Mobility, Governance and Quality of Life), Marketing to Education and Training and Health and Wellbeing. However, the common spirit of all participants involves the motivation and reinvention of their businesses.
According to StartUp Portimão, “in these two days of inspiration, teamwork and sharing tips, experiences and knowledge were not lacking, all with the ultimate goal of helping to accelerate startups.”
Entrepreneur Carla Pita, from startup Real Life Concierge, summarized the general opinion, stating that their expectations were surpassed: “The quality of the speakers and mentors was exceptional and the online bootcamp it represented a fabulous opportunity for learning and business growth, at a time as sensitive and perplexing as the one currently experienced by the pandemic”.
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