As previously mentioned, more and more Portuguese people want to open a company and create their own jobs. However, it is common for this big step not to materialize essentially due to a lack of capital.
Fortunately, there is a range of support in Portugal for new companies, which allows these barriers to be overcome when creating new businesses.
IEFP (Institute of Employment and Professional Training)
It is the national public employment service whose mission is to promote the creation and quality of employment by combating unemployment, through the implementation of active employment policies, particularly professional training. Currently, there are several sets of initiatives to support entrepreneurship in Portugal, such as:
Support for Self-Employment Creation by Recipients of Unemployment Benefits
Awarded to unemployed people through the full advance of the value of unemployment benefits. However, they must ensure the full-time employment of subsidized promoters.
Support for Business Creation
It consists of granting support to projects to create small, for-profit companies. This includes cooperatives, through access to guaranteed credit lines and interest rate subsidies granted by banking institutions. It is aimed at the unemployed, young people looking for their first job and self-employed workers.
National Microcredit Program
It consists of supporting business creation projects promoted by people who have special difficulties accessing the job market. In addition to these, micro entities and cooperatives with up to 10 workers are welcome. This program provides access to credit for projects with small investment and financing. This measure is developed in partnership with CASES (Cooperative António Sérgio for the Social Economy).
invests Young
It consists of supporting unemployed young people in setting up their own companies through financial support for investment. In addition, they have financial support for the creation of the promoters' own employment or technical support in the area of entrepreneurship to reinforce skills and structuring and consolidating the project.
IAPMEI (Institute for the Support of Small and Medium Enterprises and Innovation)
It is a public body whose objective is to promote competitiveness and business growth, ensure support for the design, execution and validation of policies aimed at industrial activity, aiming to reinforce innovation, entrepreneurship and business investment. Currently, there are several initiatives, support programs and incentives to support entrepreneurship in Portugal, such as:
StartUP Voucher
It consists of a measure developed by StartUP Portugal to stimulate the development of business projects that are in the idea phase aimed at young people. Anyone who takes advantage of this measure will have, over a period of up to 12 months, various support instruments for preparing the business project. It could be a grant, access to a network of mentors obtaining guidance from experienced promoters, monitoring of the project by an accredited entity, awarding of prizes to projects that obtain a positive evaluation based on the achievement of objectives in each phase or even prizes for the achievement of the business project through the creation of the company.
StartUP Visa
Aimed at foreign entrepreneurs who wish to develop an entrepreneurship and/or innovation project in Portugal. This is a reception program aimed at granting a residence visa or residence permit for entrepreneurial immigrants. This program consists of a prior certification process for incubators so that they can be entities that welcome and support emigrant entrepreneurs in the creation and installation of companies and subsequently, in choosing candidate entrepreneurs.
valley Hatchery
It consists of granting support to simplified projects for companies with less than a year in this area of entrepreneurship. Therefore, they can contract incubation services provided by previously accredited business incubators. This program is integrated into the SI Qualified and Creative Entrepreneurship and is aimed at micro and small companies of any nature and under any legal form. Support is provided in management services, marketing, legal advice, product and service development and financing.
Tech Visa
It is a program aimed at companies operating in the global market, with headquarters or permanent establishment in the national territory, that wish to attract citizens from abroad in the European Union who have qualified skills to Portugal. IAPMEI is the entity responsible for certifying candidate companies, involving several entities, such as the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) and the General Directorate of Consular Affairs, in the process of granting residence visas to professionals hired by certified companies. .
SI Qualified Entrepreneurship and Creative
It consists of granting financial support to small and medium-sized companies of any nature and legal form, with less than 2 years old that develop activities in sectors with strong growth dynamics, including those integrated in creative and cultural industries, and/or sectors with greater technology intensity and knowledge.
RNN (National Mentor Network)
It consists of the involvement of professionals willing to share knowledge and experience with entrepreneurs determined to achieve success, being available to the entire entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem.
StartUP Portugal
It is a government body whose purpose is to create and provide support to the national ecosystem, attract national and foreign investors and accelerate the growth of Portuguese startups in foreign markets. Currently, there are several initiatives, support programs and incentives to support entrepreneurship in Portugal, such as:
Programa Momentum
Aimed at recent graduates and finalists of Higher Education who have benefited from social action scholarships during the course and who, at the end of their studies, want to develop a business idea.
Missions to support the internationalization
It consists of providing support for the participation of Portuguese startups in major international technology events and in official delegations for State visits abroad with members of the Government, promoting the visibility of national startups abroad as well as Portugal as an innovative country.
Road 2 Web Summit
It consists of preparing Portuguese startups to maximize participation in the largest technological entrepreneurship event in the world.
Startup Hub
It consists of creating a digital platform for mapping national startups and incubators. Therefore, it includes information about the support available for the ecosystem. The platform will also bring startups and large companies together, through the Pitch Voucher.
Pitch Voucher
It consists of strengthening the relationship between startups and large companies. Through the Startup Center platform, companies can launch technological challenges and therefore, startups can respond with innovative solutions.
Training for entrepreneurs
It consists of courses aimed at entrepreneurs and their teams in order to increase the training offer of incubators and respond to the needs identified by entrepreneurs, training them to develop their business in a startup.
InovGov
It consists of bringing together startups in the public sector, in order to promote their services and products to public managers and communicate with startups how to access and compete for public tenders in different business areas.
Open Kitchen Labs
It consists of providing facilities and equipment from the network of 12 Tourism Schools across the country to startups that wish to test and test products, services and concepts in the restaurant sector.
InovComércio
It consists of launching competitions to present entrepreneurship projects in the area of commerce, which contribute to stimulating innovation in the sector.
Other financing for business creation: bank credit lines, hiring incentives by the MTSSS (Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security) and IEFP, crowdfunding, among others.
ANJE (National Association of Young Entrepreneurs)
Support for new ANJE companies, with several opportunities available to entrepreneurs, not only for credits, but also for support in the first years of activity, for different business areas.
Portugal Ventures Calls
It is the entity responsible for public investment in risk capital that will intervene in strategic sectors and projects at a stage that is associated with high risk for private investors, generally the initial stage.
