“Bigger ambitions, therefore, not only because of the growth of the summit, the quality of the participants and also the growth of the Portuguese delegation,” António Dias Martins told Lusa, referring, on the one hand, to the record Portuguese participation in the 2nd edition of the Web Summit in the ‘marvellous city’, but also to the growth of the event.
Riocentro, in Barra da Tijuca, will host more than 30,000 participants from at least 100 countries, more than 1,000 startups, around 600 investors and 600 speakers until Thursday, in a structure supported by more than 210 partners and 400 volunteers, according to the organisation.
This is a significant increase on last year’s first edition, which was attended by 21,000 people.
” The expectation is that they will make the most of the increased visibility that the Web Summit provides. During these days they will be able to establish contacts with investors, clients and other local and international agents present at the conference, taking important steps towards their internationalisation,” said the Portuguese head of this non-profit organisation, which has Public Utility Status.
On the Portuguese side, 31 startups are present, after 25 Portuguese startups took part in the previous edition, making it the second largest foreign delegation after the United States.
With regard to the giant ‘continental’ Brazilian market and the opportunities that arise from it, the Portuguese official recalls that this is a “natural destination for the internationalisation of Portuguese companies”, but that even so “it is a complex market, with many particularities”.
Brazil’s growing and sustained interest in the country, “as a gateway to Europe”, is just one of the benefits that can accrue to Portuguese startups, he said.
“Learning from previous internationalisation moves by Portuguese companies to Brazil that didn’t go as expected” is beneficial for these new companies, as is the bet that Brazil, especially Rio de Janeiro, has made “on entrepreneurship, with conditions that never existed before for the soft landing of Portuguese startups in this country.
Regarding the Portuguese delegation, António Dias Martins emphasised that “it has a very varied composition”, ranging from software development, artificial intelligence, metaverse, health technology, green technology, to sports technology, among others.
“They are undoubtedly at the forefront of the best global trends in these areas and best represent our country’s entrepreneurial dynamism,” he said.
Of the 31 startups, 12 are taking part in the technology summit as part of the Business Abroad initiative and employ more than 260 workers, having already raised “investment from venture capital and business angels totalling more than €13 million”, Startup Portugal said in a statement.
The 31 Portuguese startups at Web Summit Rio are ambi.careers, Biometrid, Dizconto, Enline, Frontfiles, Health4All, Hoopers, Hortee, Greenmetrics. ai, InAppStory, Infinite Foundry, Interpretica, iTRecruiter, Keeptip, Marvin AI, Mediaprobe, Modatta, My Data Manager, Mycareforce, Naoris Protocol, Networkme, Propel, SheerMe, Splink, SpotGames, Surf Eye, Tokenwised, uBits, Vawlt, Wiseworld, Zizu.
Cabo Verde is another of the Portuguese-speaking countries represented, with three startups (RiftOne, Health360 and Fit CV) taking part in the event, which runs from Monday to Thursday in Rio de Janeiro.
The technology event, which was born in Ireland in 2010, moved to Lisbon’s Parque das Nações area in 2016 and will remain in the Portuguese capital until 2028. In addition to Rio de Janeiro, the company has also expanded to the Middle East, with Web Summit Qatar taking place at the beginning of 2024.
