Porto, 7 April 2022 – Portugal Ventures, a venture capital firm that is part of Portuguese promotional bank Grupo Banco Português de Fomento, in partnership with ANI – National Agency for Innovation and in collaboration with Startup Portugal, has launched the 2nd edition of Call INNOV-ID to promote access to venture capital financing for science and technology-based projects that contribute to one of the following areas:
- decarbonisation of the economy
- process, product and material sustainability
- energy efficiency and sustainability
- circular economy
With submissions open until 20 May, Portugal Ventures will invest €100,000 per project for the development of a prototype, proof of concept, product (MVP) or product-market-fit validation.
As in the previous edition, applications must be submitted exclusively through one of the entities that are part of Portugal Ventures’ Ignition Partners Network (rather than directly by the founders themselves).
The following projects are eligible under Call INNOV-ID:
- Projects in the pre-seed, seed or early-stage;
- Companies to be incorporated or that were incorporated less than 8 years ago, with registered office in mainland Portugal or on the islands, and with developed technology;
- Projects resulting from scientific, technological or academic research and development, at higher education institutions or technology centres, in order to enhance the transfer of knowledge to companies and transformation into innovation;
- Projects that are promoted by or employ highly qualified human resources.
The investment under Call INNOV-ID aims at financing projects or companies with growth potential that are starting out, so that they have a runway to enable them to reach more developed stages that enable them to raise additional rounds of capital.
To mark the start of this 2nd edition, Portugal Ventures will hold a launch session at Instituto Pedro Nunes, in Coimbra, which will be attended and opened by the Minister of the Economy and the Sea, Mr António Costa e Silva. The event will take place at 3 p.m. and requires registration.
In 2020, following the launch of the 1st edition of Call INNOV-ID, in just one month Portugal Ventures received 117 applications, resulting in an investment of €4 million in 40 projects.
Portugal Ventures will launch another edition of Call INNOV-ID in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Rui Ferreira, CEO of Portugal Ventures, says that “when, in 2020, we were invited by the government to launch a call for pre-seed projects, to boost the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we financed projects in stages where there was a clear market failure and in strategic sectors for the recovery of the Portuguese economy, at a very critical time for emerging companies. Two years later, our mission remains the same. By renewing the partnership with the National Innovation Agency, we are once again promoting cooperation between higher education institutions, technological interface centres and startups, and the transfer of scientific and technological knowledge to small and medium-sized enterprises in order to help increase their capacity for innovation and R&D”.
“The number of applications received in the first edition strengthens our belief that Portugal produces scientific and technological knowledge and innovation of excellence and that is globally competitive and able to reach the market. But we must continue to invest in instruments that encourage this process. The partnership between ANI, Portugal Ventures and FITEC has proved to be an effective tool to address the lack of funding for technology transfer projects with accelerated growth.
Since this second edition focuses on the green transition, we believe that we will receive proposals with transforming potential that will help foster a more competitive, independent and sustainable economy,” adds João Mendes Borga, ANI Board member.
