After four days of intense training, on the 13th of April, the 6th StartUp Portimão Acceleration Bootcamp came to an end, with the conference “As Smart Cities and Climate Change” and the final presentation of the business projects that competed for this year's edition.
The Bootcamp was divided into two periods (March 8th and 9th and April 12th and 13th), with the second moment taking place in person at the new facilities of the School of Hospitality and Tourism of Portimão.
The opening session was attended by Pedro Moreira, director of the School of Hospitality and Tourism of Portimão, and Teresa Mendes, councilor of the Municipality of Portimão, having been moderated by Luís Matos Martins, CEO of Creative Territories.
At the conference “Smart Cities and Climate Change”, and before a panel of speakers, topics on sustainable cities and how to think about the environmental future were discussed, in order to envision which strategy and which projects should be implemented right now.
Speakers include Pedro Coelho, regional director of APA – Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente, Manuela Rosa, coordinating professor at the Higher Institute of Engineering of the University of Algarve (UAlg), researcher at CinTurs and co-responsible for the Sustowns Project, and also Nuno Godinho, director of Vestas Power Solutions.
For Manuela Rosa, "sustainable cities have to be smart and in the context of climate change we must change the modal transfer and the quality of public transport", while Nuno Godinho understands "it is impossible to think of smart cities without energy transition, namely through the intensification support for renewable sources, especially wind, as the wind produces energy day and night", while Pedro Coelho considers that "in order to have good practices in water management, digitization is an added value."
This was followed by presentations of the respective pitches by the participating entrepreneurs, before a panel of judges consisting of Ana Isabel Vieira, director of the Barlavento Employment and Professional Training Centre, David Siqueira Magboulé, Head of Growth & Acceleration at Startup Portugal, Maria da Luz , president of the Parish Council of Portimão, Maria de Lurdes Carvalho, director of services at the Commission for Coordination and Regional Development of the Algarve, and Maria Inês Barra, CEO of Faro Avenida Business Center, with José Cardoso, Councilor of the Portimão Chamber, present at the closing session.
On the occasion, and referring to the theme of the conference he had attended, the mayor said that “in the current scenario, the worst mistake is to go back”. “We are accompanying the digital transition in favor of climate action and, therefore, continue to dream, not looking at the barriers as problems, but as challenges”, pointed out José Cardoso.
The winners of the 6th Bootcamp
The winners of this edition of Bootcamp were three projects incubated at StartUp Portimão, with Dynamic Parking in first place, a mobile application for parking solutions in high-traffic areas of cities and where parking is challenging, quickly and safely.
In second place was Flavorit, a web and mobile platform that provides relevant information to people looking for restaurant alternatives, when making the decision of where they want to have a meal, while the third place went to Grand Wings Luxury Chauffeurs, the first company to south of the country that truly operates in the segment of luxury passenger transport.
The jury also decided to award an honorable mention to the Algarve Cupcakes project, by a group of students from the School of Hospitality and Tourism in Portimão, created with products from the Algarve.
In 2023, StartUp Portimão's Bootcamp received 25 applications in the areas of sustainability, tourism, mobility and transport, gastronomy and luxury, from which 12 projects of various nationalities were selected (one Angolan and one Russian), with a strong participation of entrepreneurs. linked to the Portimão incubator, in addition to local projects by the Higher School of Management, Hospitality and Tourism, the Higher Institute Manuel Teixeira Gomes (ISMAT) and the School of Hotel and Tourism of Portimão.
inspiring talks
Also within the scope of the 6th Bootcamp, the two talks held on the 12th of April, respectively, “Making It Happen”, inspired by Leonardo Mariano, CEO of Breakfastaway and entrepreneur of StartUp Portimão, and “6 Golden Rules to Attract a Investor", by Ricardo Mariano, CEO of the Timing Group.
There was also an opportunity for participating entrepreneurs to receive feedback from mentors with expertise in various business areas, through Speed Mentoring, with the collaboration of Flávio Martins (Center for Marine and Environmental Research at UAlg), Ion Volosciuc (CEO of Gribb Farm), João Laginha Martins (Indico Capital), Luís Coelho (deputy director of the Faculty of Economics at UAlg), Luís Rodrigues (CEO of Polotur Transfer), Miguel Guerreiro (CEO of Água Hotels Spa & Resorts), Pedro Esteves (entrepreneur and trainer at the School of Hospitality and Tourism of Portimão), Raquel Melo (CEO of Inboundware), Ricardo Mariano (CEO of the Timing Group), Rui Mesquita (Smartcity Lagoa Project) and Susana Leonor (director of the degree in Communication Design at ISMAT).
The 6th StartUp Portimão Acceleration Bootcamp resulted from a partnership between the Portimão City Council, the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, GEN Portugal and Territories Criativos.
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