Expresso features Empowered Startups’ HQA Program

We were recently featured in Expresso, one of Portugal’s leading national publications, in an article highlighting Empowered Startups’ commitment to attracting highly qualified international entrepreneurs to Portugal. The initiative was formally presented to Portugal’s Minister for Territorial Cohion, Ana Abrunhosa, underscoring its national significance.

The article focuses on Empowered Startups’ pledge to bring approximately 50 international entrepreneurs to Portugal each year, generating up to €10 million in foreign direct investment for research and development at Portuguese universities and polytechnic institutes over the next three years.

A key theme of the coverage is the transformation of academic research into market-ready innovation. Entrepreneurs collaborate directly with universities and polytechnics, funding research projects and working alongside academic teams to convert scientific knowledge into companies, products, and services with global market potential.

The article also emphasizes the importance of directing this activity toward Portugal’s interior regions. By prioritizing partnerships outside major urban centers, Empowered Startups supports national objectives related to territorial cohesion, digitalization, and combating regional depopulation through sustainable, knowledge-based economic growth.

Since establishing operations in Portugal in 2019, Empowered Startups has already invested approximately €1 million in academic research and has built partnerships with institutions across the country, including universities and polytechnics in Évora, Aveiro, Algarve, Bragança, Leiria, and Guarda, with additional collaborations underway.

The article highlights how this commitment aligns closely with the goals of the HQA (Highly Qualified Activity) Visa, which enables Portugal to attract global entrepreneurial talent that brings both capital and international expertise, while anchoring innovation within the Portuguese research ecosystem.

You can read the full article, ‘Canadian multinational commits to attracting entrepreneurs who invest in science in Portugal’s interior regions‘ in Portuguese.