The municipality of Vila Nova de Famalicão signed a memorandum of understanding with Startup Portugal on Thursday 8 May, reinforcing its commitment to boosting the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The partnership aims to support companies with recognised startup and scaleup status, with headquarters or activity in the municipality, fostering competitiveness, innovation and value creation in the region.
The signing of the memorandum took place at Alfândega do Porto, in the presence of the Councillor for the Economy and Entrepreneurship, Augusto Lima.
This strategic agreement provides for a series of mutual commitments. Startup Portugal undertakes to share relevant information about the national ecosystem, support the attraction of talent and investment, publicise local initiatives among its network of contacts, and promote Famalicão Made IN as an accredited incubator and member of the National Incubator Network.
For its part, the Municipality of Famalicão is committed to strengthening the Famalicão Made IN programme as a strategic pillar of support for startups and scaleups, promoting education for entrepreneurship, enhancing the network of mentors and boosting initiatives to attract and accelerate innovative businesses, such as JUMP, Elevador, Showcase and Hackathon. The municipality is also committed to upgrading business reception areas, attracting new projects and consolidating the Famalicão IN HUB, in Vale S. Cosme, as a centre of excellence for entrepreneurship and technological innovation.
‘The Municipality of Famalicão has a strong interest in promoting entrepreneurship, especially technology-based entrepreneurship, through the specialised support of Famalicão Made IN and the development of structured initiatives. The signing of this memorandum with Startup Portugal represents a convergence of wills, which will allow us to consolidate and expand our action with startups and scaleups, boosting an increasingly competitive and innovative local ecosystem,’ said Augusto Lima today.
Vila Nova de Famalicão is recognised for its diversified industrial fabric, which is highly export-oriented and dynamic, and for its growing tradition of technological entrepreneurship, factors which underpin a robust municipal strategy to support innovation. Links with public and private organisations in the national ecosystem will now be strengthened with this new alliance.
In 2024, the municipality was honoured with the title of European Entrepreneurial Region, awarded by the European Committee of the Regions, in recognition of the ‘From Made IN Famalicão to Created IN Famalicão’ strategy, which has been affirming the territory as a national benchmark in supporting entrepreneurship.
Startup Portugal is a non-profit organisation whose aim is to develop activities in the public interest to promote entrepreneurship.
