“100% vertical in fintech”: how Fintech House built a sector’s home

In this edition of #IncubXdiscoveries, we headed to Lisbon to discover Fintech House, the only hub in Portugal dedicated exclusively to financial technology. We spoke with Mariana Gorjão Henriques, Managing Director of Fintech House, about the SPRINT acceleration program and a community of more than 110 companies connecting founders with banks, insurers, regulators, and investors.

This content is available in Portuguese.

– How did Fintech House come about? What kind of projects do you incubate?

Fintech House was born in January 2020, in Lisbon, from a partnership between Portugal Fintech and the coworking network Sítio, with the goal of creating an ecosystem where fintechs, insurtechs, regtechs, and cybersecurity companies could easily interact with regulators, banks, insurers, and investors. We incubate projects at every stage of maturity, from pre-seed to scale-up, in fintech, insurtech, regtech, cybersecurity, crypto/blockchain, proptech, and AI applied to finance.

– Do you have an area of specialization?

Yes, we are the only hub in Portugal dedicated exclusively to financial technology. Our specialization covers fintech, insurtech, regtech, cybersecurity, crypto, and blockchain, with a community that now exceeds 110 companies and a strong international presence.

– What does your incubation model look like?

We combine a physical coworking space, with 10 floors and around 2,400 m² on Av. Duque de Loulé, in Lisbon, with virtual membership and SPRINT, our 5-month acceleration program divided into three phases (product validation, go-to-market, and fundraising). Startups have access to mentoring from more than 15 operators and investors, workshops, office hours, and a direct connection to corporate partners such as Santander, Fidelidade, Morais Leitão, and VISA.

– Tell us the story of a startup that left its mark on the incubator. Where did incubation with you make the difference?

One of the stories we are most proud of is Coverflex, which was part of our community in its early stages and is now one of the Portuguese fintech scale-ups with the greatest international reach. Access to mentors, proximity to banking and insurance partners, and the connection to investors through our ecosystem helped teams like this one accelerate product validation and their first commercial partnerships.

– Failure is also part of the journey. What is the biggest lesson from something that did not go well?

One of our biggest lessons was realizing that growing fast in number of members does not, by itself, mean building a community. Without curation and close support, the space risks becoming a simple shared office. That led us to invest more in structured mentoring, events, and the SPRINT program, to make sure every startup has real support and not just a desk.

– What makes your incubator stand out? In other words, what do you have that helps startups succeed?

What sets us apart is being 100% vertical in fintech. We are not a generic coworking space, we are the hub of an entire sector. That translates into direct access to official corporate partners, regulators, and an international community of more than 110 companies. We were also recognized by the Financial Times as one of Europe’s Top 35 startup hubs and one of the Top 15 European hubs for mentoring.

– What kind of projects or startups are you looking for right now?

We are always looking for early-stage/pre-seed fintechs for SPRINT, our acceleration program (up to 10 startups per edition, with no closed equity rounds or up to 50 thousand euros via SAFE/convertible notes, already with an MVP and signs of traction). Outside SPRINT, we continue to welcome fintech, insurtech, regtech, cybersecurity, proptech, and DeFi startups at any stage of maturity to our coworking space.

– Community is one of the factors that distinguishes an incubator from an office center. How do you nurture yours, and what plans do you have to make it more cohesive and fertile?

The community is our greatest asset. It now brings together more than 110 companies, with a strong international presence (Brazil, Ukraine, Spain, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, among others). We take care of it through regular events, offsite retreats, our newsletter “The House”, and a dedicated agenda throughout the year, designed to serve our different target audiences. We continue to invest in initiatives that bring founders, mentors, investors, and corporate partners closer together, reinforcing SPRINT as an engine of new connections within the community.

– What are the main challenges for incubation in your specific context?

In Portugal, the main challenges are access to venture capital at early stages, regulatory complexity in areas such as payments, crypto, and insurance, and the need to attract and retain specialized technical and regulatory talent. As a vertical hub, our additional challenge is making sure that proximity to banks, insurers, and regulators translates into real opportunities and not just networking.

– Is there any news, event, or initiative you would like to share with us?

Yes! We just closed the SPRINT 2026 edition, which brought together 11 fintech, proptech, and regtech startups and ended with a Demo Day.

ABOUT #INCUBXDISCOVERIES

#IncubXdiscoveries is Startup Portugal’s monthly feature that will help you discover Portuguese incubators. What projects they incubate, how they manage their community and what success stories they’ve had and future projects are some of the topics covered in these interviews.

If you’d like to find out more about Fintech House, either because you’d like to see your project incubated in this region or because you’d like to establish a partnership, contact the Startup Portugal team at incubadoras@startupportugal.com.