- For projects in the pre-seed and seed and based in the Autonomous Region of the Azores;
- Investment of up to €200,000 per project;
- Submissions open until 29 November.
Porto, 15 September 2021 – Portugal Ventures, part of the Banco Português de Fomento Group, in partnership with the Government of the Azores, announces the launch of the first edition of Call Açores, aimed at promoting access to venture capital financing for innovative projects that are linked to the Autonomous Region of the Azores and are able to boost the Regions’ growth and development.
This Call is designed to foster the creation of startups and strengthen the business development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) based in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, to help them develop and implement their innovative, growth and internationalisation strategies.
This initiative aims to promote entrepreneurship by encouraging the creation of national or regional startups with global potential in sectors considered to be of interest to the development of entrepreneurship in the Azores, and which help position Portugal as a tech hub that is globally competitive and attractive to international investors.
Call Açores will invest in:
✓ Incorporated companies or those to be incorporated, with activity in the Azores.
✓ Innovative projects/companies in the pre-seed and seed stages;
✓ Innovative projects:
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- that directly and/or indirectly promote increased export capacity in the Autonomous Region of the Azores;
- that project a positive image of the Azores abroad as a nature and environmentally sustainable destination;
- are considered strategic for the Region, in the follow sectors:
- Tourism (tourist activities, travel & leisure, tech)
- Life Sciences (therapeutics, med tech, diagnostics, digital health)
- Tech (Software: cloud & IT, Enterprise and SaaS, E-marketplaces)
- Other strategic sectors, namely Spatial, Energy, Agro Industrial, forestry industry and ocean industry.
More information about the eligibility conditions and Call Açores is available here.
Rui Ferreira, Vice-President of Portugal Ventures says that “by launching this first edition of Call Açores, Portugal Ventures is very committed to boosting the development of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, helping to capitalise companies that are in line with the Region’s strategic interests and investing in an ecosystem with strong innovation potential, capable of being globally competitive”.
For Ana Margarida Reis, Regional Director of DRAIC, “this launch aims to complement the several investment support programmes already available in the Region, offering a platform to support innovative projects in the early stages by acquiring a stake in their share capital and providing their management teams with specialised assistance from Portugal Ventures, which has a proven track record in this area”.
About the Regional Directorate for the Support of Investment and Competitiveness:
The Regional Directorate for the Support of Investment and Competitiveness (DRAIC) aims to support the design and implementation of policies to stimulate private investment to boost the competitiveness of Azorean businesses and to promote innovation, quality and entrepreneurship, as well as attract foreign investment.
