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Portugal Ventures Launches 7th Call for Entrepreneurship

Portugal Ventures Launches 7th Call for Entrepreneurship

Portugal Ventures 7th Edition Submissions to the 7th Call For Entrepreneurship starts on April 28 until 29 May, 2014. This initiative facilitates the access of innovative scientific and technology-based projects to seed and start-up investment. Portugal Ventures has already invested, as a result of the previous calls, in more than 25 start-ups with the ambition to become companies of excellence on the global market.

Pre-reto seed and start-up investment. Portugal Ventures has already invested, as a result of the previous calls, in more than 25 start-ups with the ambition to become companies of excellence on the global market.

Projects in sectors such as Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and WEB, Life Sciences, Tourism, Endogenous Resources, Nanotechnologies and Materials are eligible for investment. Selected projects will benefit from a capital investment of up to 750 thousand Euros, with a maximum of 85% of each project’s total funding needs. Entrepreneurs can gain from the support and guidance of one of the entities from the Call’s Ignition Partners Network, in the preparation and qualification of their project, making it investment ready.

Projects submitted to the Call will be evaluated by assessment panels made up of both national and international experts in business and technology, as well as investors from the Ignition Capital Network, business angels and other venture capital, who may co-invest together with Portugal Ventures in the selected projects. Portugal Ventures will select the projects which show the greatest potential for growth and the ability to become start-ups of excellence, on a global scale. The projects invested in will benefit from the advice of specialists, preferentially international experts, with accumulated experience and a vast network of relevant contacts. These projects may also be given the opportunity to be incubated and accelerated at the centres for the Portuguese entrepreneurship ecosystem in San Francisco, “Portugal Ventures in the Bay”, and in Boston, “Portugal Ventures in Boston”.

During the previous six Calls for Entrepreneurship more than 1600 entrepreneurs registered on the Portugal Ventures website, resulting in the submission of more than 500 projects. The commitment and encouragement given by the entities from the Ignition Partners Network contributed to this success – the network currently boasts 40 national scientific and technology-based entities from the entrepreneurship ecosystem. The Call For Entrepreneurship is the entry point to the Ignition Programme, an initiative spearheaded by Portugal Ventures and which is an integral part of the +e+i Programme (more entrepreneurship, more innovation). The objective of this programme is to bolster the Portuguese technology-based entrepreneurship ecosystem, thus contributing to the development of a more modern and competitive economy, open to the world, based on knowledge, innovation and highly qualified human capital, with a strong entrepreneurial spirit.

Through this initiative, Portugal Ventures aims to invest around 20 million Euros, per year. Some of the venture capital funds managed by Portugal Ventures are co-financed by the European Union through FINOVA, managed by PME Investimentos, COMPETE and POR LISBOA. More information available at http://www.portugalventures.pt/en/contents.html?hrq=146.

Source: Portugal Ventures