AICEP Highlights Empowered Startups’ New MoU with the Municipality of Santarém

The AICEP (via PortugalGlobal) has published coverage of our recent partnership with the Municipality of Santarém, highlighting how the MoU we signed advances innovation and investment in Portugal’s interior.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding, signed on 11 November 2025 at the Web Summit 2025 in Lisbon, our company Empowered Startups will work hand-in-hand with Santarém’s municipal government to support its strategic priorities around:

• Attracting highly skilled talent and international entrepreneurs to the region.
• Facilitating knowledge transfer and collaboration with local higher-education institutions (notably the Politécnico de Santarém).
• Supporting innovative R&D projects and foreign-direct-investment-led ventures in the Ribatejo region of Portugal.
• Expanding our signature HQA® Visa Program into less-served interior regions of Portugal, enabling global professionals to relocate, launch ventures, and engage with Portuguese academia.

Since 2023, Empowered Startups has already been working with the Politécnico de Santarém through its network of foreign founder-R&D collaborations: 12 project collaborations to date.

We believe this MoU sets a new model for how local Portuguese municipalities can partner with government-endorsed entities to catalyse innovation, attract global talent and investment, and promote regional growth beyond major metropolitan hubs. The AICEP article frames Santarém’s commitment to supporting foreign entrepreneurs and local research ecosystems as a key competitive advantage.

Read the full article about our new MoU with the Municipality of Santarém