- Call INNOV-ID (referred to as “Mezzanine funding for Startups” in the “relief measures for startups” announced by the Ministry of the Economy and Digital Transition) – with investment tickets of between €50,000 and €100,000, aims at investing in science and tech-based projects or companies in the pre-seed, seed or early stages that have developed technology, but are still in the prototype, proof of concept or in product-market-fit validation stage. The Call has a total of €10 million to invest.
- Call FIT – with investment tickets of up to €100,000, is for the 2019/2020 finalists of the Fostering Innovation in Tourism Programme promoted by Turismo de Portugal and has a total of €600,000 available for investment;
- Operation Follow-Ons (referred to as “Instrument Covid-19 – Portugal Ventures” in the “relief measures for startups” announced by the Ministry of the Economy and Digital Transition) – to be carried out together with Portugal Ventures’ Capital Partners Network, aims at shoring up the capital of startups already backed by other investors, with a total of €3 million available for those in the Digital, Engineering & Manufacturing and Life Sciences sectors, and a total of €4.4 million for Tourism startups;
Lisbon, 4 May 2020 – As part of a set of measures launched by the Government, and in close collaboration with its partners, Portugal Ventures has been preparing a number of financing instruments to help Portuguese startups and the entrepreneurial ecosystem regain their footing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The three instruments available are:
Call INNOV-ID – in partnership with ANI – National Innovation Agency, PME Investimentos and Startup Portugal, which will run from 4 May to 5 June 2020. This initiative is for companies incorporated no more than 8 years ago, or those yet to be incorporated, with their registered office on mainland Portugal, in the Autonomous Regions of the Azores or in Madeira.
For projects promoted by already incorporated tech-based companies to be eligible for the Call, the companies must:
- mandatorily be registered with Startup Hub, an online community-oriented platform managed by Startup Portugal and the National Incubator Network;
- and fulfil at least one of the following criteria: (i) be the result of a scientific, technology or academic research and development programme carried out within higher education institutions or technology centres, (ii) be incubated in tech-based Incubators or incubators linked to higher education institutions or technology centres, (iii) employ or be promoted by highly skilled human resources and will maintain or create highly qualified employment, (iv) be recognised as “technology companies” by ANI or be beneficiaries of the incentives it manages;
For projects promoted by companies that are yet to be incorporated to be eligible for the Call, the companies must mandatorily be incubated in one of the entities that are part of the National Incubator Network or associated with one of the partners in Portugal Ventures’ Ignition Partners Network, and must also fulfil at least one of the criteria listed under (b) above stipulated for incorporated companies.
Call FIT – the 2nd edition of the Call was launched in partnership with Turismo de Portugal and NEST, and runs until 21 May. This initiative seeks to invest in the finalist tourism projects of the Fostering Innovation in Tourism Acceleration Programme that are in the pre-seed, non-tech and tech stages. Call FIT aims to bridge the financing gap that startups find after the programmes have ended, giving impetus to innovative tourism-based projects and stimulating the entrepreneurial ecosystem by supporting the development of ideas and business models that offer new solutions for the Tourism sector. Portugal Ventures invested in 3 projects in the 1st edition of Call FIT: Bag4Days, Classihy and Sailside, investing a total of €372 thousand.
Operation Follow-Ons – Portugal Ventures has been working on this operation since the beginning of April, in partnership with IFD, INCM and Turismo de Portugal. Together with our Capital Partners, we identify startups that, due to their potential for growth and ability to overcome the setbacks caused by the pandemic, require follow-on investments to continue pursuing their business activities. This initiative is not open to the entrepreneurial community as it is reserved for subsequent investments with our capital partners network.
For Rui Ferreira, Vice-President of Portugal Ventures, “the initiatives we are now launching to implement the measures announced by the Government once again highlight the role Portugal Ventures plays in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. We must be the catalyst for projects and companies that boost the national economy and, in these exceptional times, contribute to economic recovery, thereby anchoring Portugal as a benchmark for innovation and technology”.
