Last year, Lisbon was named European Capital of Innovation by the European Commission, in recognition of the rise of its tech scene and its brand as ‘Unicorn Capital’ for attracting entrepreneurs from all over the world.
Beyond start-ups, however, there have been growing levels of interest among multinationals in the various constituent factors enabling innovation in Portugal. The average number of greenfield projects in research and development (R&D) in Portugal jumped some 215% from the 2018–2020 period to 2021–2023, according to fDi Markets.
Advertisement
One of the most salient examples of this trend has been the opening of a new innovation hub in Lisbon last year by Swiss state-owned supplier of space products Beyond Gravity.
Faced with the changing demands of the space industry, Màrio Melo Guedes Vidal, director of transformation for Beyond Gravity, tells fDi that the company’s bet on Lisbon is tied to its bet on the future growth of the company.
Faster and more innovative
“We have to be faster, we have to be more volume-driven; margins need to be lower and we need to be more innovative,” he says. “That’s where Lisbon comes in.”
Over recent years, the space industry, which used to be dominated by a traditional state-owned business model serving national space missions, has turned into a more fragmented market of private players of the likes of Elon Musk’s SpaceX. It has prompted a rethink among companies like Beyond Gravity. Part of the Swiss aerospace and defence company RUAG, it produces satellite dispensers, payload fairings, components, computers, antennae and satellite structures, among other things.
Drawn to Portugal by the quality of its engineering talent, chiefly the space engineering degrees from several universities across the country, Mr Vidal explains that the stream of graduates has made hiring easier.
Advertisement
“Though the Portuguese market is competitive, we are hiring faster in Portugal than in our other locations,” Mr Vidal says.
The company plans to have 200 employees by 2025, and is set to become the largest space engineering company operating in Lisbon.
R&D ecosystem
Added to the talent base is a growing technology ecosystem, which gave the company the confidence to come to Portugal. In 2018, German carmaker BMW set up a joint venture with Portuguese software company Critical Software to focus on developing software for BMW’s cars and IT ecosystem.
Last year, US technology giant IBM announced that it will set up an innovation centre in the university town of Coimbra, in the centre of the country, specialising in quantum computing. The University of Coimbra will contribute both in training and R&D, according to the announced partnership between the university, IBM Portugal, Coimbra City Council and the IBM subsidiary Softinsa.
“The ecosystem and network have also been great,” says Mr Vidal. “There is a community of international companies, local companies and institutions that support each other — which is part of the Portuguese way.”
Out of 132 global economies, Portugal is ranked among the world’s 30 most innovative in the Global Innovation Index 2023. According to the report, Portugal’s main innovation strengths are the diversification of its domestic industry, software spending as a share of gross domestic product, and scientific and technical articles published in the country.
Do you want more FDI stories delivered directly to your inbox? Subscribe to our newsletters.
This article is part of the Special Report:
Back to the front-end