With mindset Certainly, the Algarve has the potential to become a Silicon Valley, capable of creating unicorns, and its companies have unique advantages to invest in expanding into new markets, such as the United States or Germany. These are some of the conclusions of the second day of the Algarve Tech Hub Summit which is taking place, until tomorrow, June 23, at the Campus da Penha, of the University of Algarve.
This Thursday was dedicated to the internationalization potential of companies and was attended by international speakers from the United States, such as Izzet Darendeli or Aaron McDaniel, and from Germany, such as Daniel Breitinger or Remzi Aru.
The idea is unanimous: the Algarve has enormous potential to develop as a leading region in innovation and the internationalization of its companies.
For specialist Izzet Darendeli, to transform the Algarve into a Silicon Valley, capable of producing “unicorns” «you need to have the right people and make the necessary connections».
«And this event helps a lot in that regard, because some of the world's best specialists in this area are here. The fact that they came is revealing of these potentialities. When we got to know the university, the will of the municipality and the work of Algarve Evolution, we got the idea that they have everything they need", he said.
Furthermore, he considers, «you have a better climate than us, in California, and that makes me think that in a good location, like Faro, with good food, with good people, there is enormous potential».
Potential to welcome technological companies, critical mass and investment, but also to take what is done in this sector to other countries.
Entrepreneur, author and speaker Aaron McDaniel, who presented the “key” ideas for internationalization and market expansion, sees in the Algarve and, in Portugal, «great advantages», just needing the «right mindset», to reach more far away.
«It's easier to expand into other markets from a smaller country than from a big country. A company that is born here, taking into account the size of the market, must be born with expansion in mind right away. Basically, they must be interpreters», explaining that this means that these are entrepreneurs focused on internationalization.
In the panel dedicated to dissemination in the European market, which addressed various topics such as the competitiveness of European companies in the global market, or innovation in areas such as blockchain or the travels of the future, Daniel Breitinger highlighted that «to compete in the global market, we have to be fast in the digital transformation. We have to think globally, to understand how to keep our economy competitive, creating startups, to compete in the global market. We have to collaborate more for that».
If there is potential for breeding “unicorns” in the Algarve, it also exists for breeding “zebras”.
But what are “zebras”? Wouter Hejnen explained: «I think we should stop thinking only about unicorns, it is also necessary to assume the creation of “zebras”, companies that grow naturally, without focusing on the return of Shareholders, giving value not only to what you are, but to what you do».
This second day of the Algarve Tech Hub Summit was also marked by the presentation by Gonçalo Hall, from Nomadx, who presented very concrete ideas, based on his experience in Madeira, which has become one of the preferred destinations, worldwide, for digital nomads, on how to make the Algarve grow as a technological and lifestyles.
The afternoon started with a true “declaration of love” to the Algarve, by a panel that included technology professionals from various parts of the globe, who chose the region to live and work, and continued with panels dedicated to issues laws to set up companies in Portugal, the forms of financing and also the issue of industrial property.
The Algarve Tech Hub Summit continues this Friday, on a day when, among other topics, the future of the technology sector will be addressed, namely in the areas of artificial intelligence, or the marketing of the future, as well as the challenges in various areas such as space exploration, the blue economy, or tourism.
You can consult here or program.
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