More and more Portuguese want start a business and create the job itself. However, it is common that this big step does not take place due essentially to the lack of capital. So there are several support to businesses in Portugal for new companies, which allows to overcome these barriers in the creation of new businesses.
IEFP
Institute of Employment and Professional Training is the national public employment service whose mission is to promote the creation and quality of employment by fighting unemployment, through the implementation of active employment policies, namely vocational training. Currently, there are several sets of initiatives to support entrepreneurship in Portugal, such as:
Support for Self-Employment Creation by Recipients of Unemployment Benefits
Attributed to unemployed people through the total anticipation of the value of unemployment benefits. However, they must ensure that full-time sponsors are employed.
Support for Business Creation
It consists of granting support projects for the creation of small-sized for-profit companies. In other words, it includes cooperatives, through access to credit lines with guarantees and interest rate subsidies granted by banking institutions. It is aimed at the unemployed, young people looking for their first job and self-employed workers.
National Microcredit Program
It is not support to business creation projects promoted by people who have special difficulties in accessing the labor market. In addition, micro entities and cooperatives up to 10 workers are welcome. This program provides access to credit for projects with small investment and financing. This measure is developed in partnership with CASES (Cooperative António Sérgio for the Social Economy).
invests Young
It is not support the unemployed young people in starting their own businesses through support investment. In addition, they have support finance the creation of self-employment promoters or support technical in the area of entrepreneurship to reinforce the skills and structuring and consolidating the project.
IAPMEI
Support Institute for Small and Medium Enterprises and Innovation is a public body. Its objective is to promote competitiveness and business growth, to ensure the support the design, execution and validation of policies aimed at industrial activity, aiming at strengthening innovation, entrepreneurship and business investment. There are currently several initiatives, support programs and incentives in order to support entrepreneurship in Portugal, such as:
StartUP Voucher
It consists of a measure developed by StartUP Portugal to boost the development of business projects that are in the idea phase for young people. Whoever takes advantage of this measure, will have, over a period of up to 12 months, several instruments of support preparation of the business project. In other words, it may be a scholarship, access to a network of mentors obtaining guidance from experienced promoters, monitoring of the project by an accredited entity, attribution of prizes to projects that obtain positive evaluation according to the fulfillment of objectives of each phase or even prizes the realization of the business project through the creation of the company.
StartUP Visa
Aimed at foreign entrepreneurs wishing to develop an entrepreneurship and / or innovation project in Portugal. This is a reception program with a view to granting a residence visa or residence permit for entrepreneurial immigrants. This program consists of a previous incubator certification process so that they can be host and support to entrepreneurial migrants in the creation and installation of companies and later, in the choice of candidate entrepreneurs.
valley Hatchery
It is to provide support to simplified projects of companies with less than a year in this area of entrepreneurship. Thus, they have contracted incubation services provided by incubators from previously accredited companies. This program is integrated in the Qualified and Creative Entrepreneurship SI and is aimed at micro and small companies of any nature and in any legal form. Thus, support in management services, marketing, legal advice, product and service development and financing.
Tech Visa
It is a program aimed at companies inserted in the global market, with headquarters or permanent establishment in the national territory, who intend to attract to Portugal foreign citizens to the European Union who have qualified skills. IAPMEI is the entity responsible for the certification of candidate companies, involving several entities, such as the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) and the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs, in order to assign residence visas to professionals hired by certified companies.
SI Qualified Entrepreneurship and Creative
It is to provide support financial services to small and medium-sized companies of any nature and legal form, with less than 2 years that develop activities in sectors with strong growth dynamics. This includes those integrated into creative and cultural industries, and or sectors with a higher intensity of technology and knowledge.
RNN (National Network of Mentors)
It consists of the involvement of professionals willing to share knowledge and experience with entrepreneurs with determination to achieve success, being available for the entire entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem.
StartUP Portugal
It is a government agency that aims at creating and providing support to the national ecosystem and attract national and foreign investors. In addition, it accelerates the growth of startups Portuguese companies in foreign markets. Currently, there are several initiatives, incentive programs and support to businesses in Portugal, such as:
Programa Momentum
Aimed at recent graduates and finalists in Higher Education who have benefited from social action grants during the course and who, at the end of their studies, want to develop a business idea.
Missions to support the internationalization
It is to provide support the participation of startups at major international technology events and on official delegations of State visits abroad with members of the Government, promoting the visibility of startups nationals abroad as well as Portugal as an innovative country.
Road 2 Web Summit
It consists of the preparation of startups in order to maximize participation in the largest technological entrepreneurship event in the world.
Startup Hub
It is the creation of a digital platform mapping startups and national incubators. Thus, it includes information on support available to the ecosystem. In addition, the platform will also allow startups and large companies, through the Pitch Voucher.
Pitch Voucher
It consists in strengthening the relationship between startups and large companies. Through the Startup Center platform, companies can launch technological challenges and therefore, startups can respond with innovative solutions.
Training for entrepreneurs
It consists of courses for entrepreneurs and their teams in order to increase the training offer of incubators and respond to the needs identified by entrepreneurs, enabling them to develop business in a startup.
InovGov
It is the approximation of startups public sector, in order to promote its services and products to public managers and disseminate startups how to access and compete for public tenders in different business areas.
Open Kitchen Labs
It consists of providing facilities and equipment from the network of 12 Tourism Schools across the country to startups who intend to carry out tests and trials of products, services and concepts in the area of catering.
InovComércio
Finally, InovComércio corresponds to one of the support to businesses in Portugal. It consists of launching tenders for the presentation of entrepreneurship projects in the trade area, in order to stimulate innovation in the sector.
In addition, other financing for business creation: bank credit lines, incentives for contracting by MTSSS (Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security) and IEFP, crowdfunding, among others.
tion
support for new companies National Association of Young Entrepreneurs, with this available to entrepreneurs several opportunities, not only for credits, but also for support to the first years of activity, for several business areas.
Portugal Ventures Calls
Finally, another type of support to businesses in Portugal there is the entity responsible for public investment in venture capital that will intervene in sectors and strategic projects at a stage that is associated with high risk for private investors, usually the initial phase.