“A community willing to help one another”: Building Mafra & Ericeira Business Factory

The Business Factory is the business incubator of the Mafra City Council with a mission to support entrepreneurs and business projects that contribute to the economic, social and environmental development of the region, providing a dynamic and innovative environment. To learn more about this initiative, we spoke with Marta Miraldes, coordinator of Business Factory.

This content is available in Portuguese.

– How did the Mafra & Ericeira Business Factory come about? What kind of projects do you incubate?

The Business Factory is an incubator with two incubation centers. The first was launched in Ericeira in 2015, and the second the following year, strategically located in the center of Mafra. We incubate ideas or projects in different verticals, but with a strategic focus on projects in technology, tourism, sustainability, the sea economy and agri-food.

– What does your incubation model consist of?

Our value proposition is based on the personalized support given to each project, regardless of its stage. Whether it’s an idea or an established business, we support the growth of projects by providing access to specialized mentoring; funding and investment opportunities; matchmaking to establish new partnerships and attract potential new clients; and project promotion through our communication channels and events. In addition to the incubation program, they also benefit from access to acceleration programs, training and other initiatives that Business Factory can promote, as well as access to workspaces, be they private offices or coworking spaces, in a friendly and pleasant environment among a community made up of national and foreign founders from all over the world.

– Can you tell us the story of a startup that made a difference in the incubator? And where did incubating with you make a difference?

Last Call, a startup that has been around for just over a year and specializes in the rental of powerbanks, has differentiated itself from the competition through innovation and by creating an absolutely simple and uncomplicated consumer experience. Users can pick up a powerbank in seconds and charge their electronic devices anywhere, then return it to any Last Call station in mainland Portugal. Today it has a network of over 200 powerbank rental stations and a presence at some of the country’s most important events and festivals.

Business Factory’s contribution was mainly in guiding opportunities and access to specialized mentoring, essentially in the bridge established with some partners, allowing Last Call to grow rapidly and position itself as a startup to bet on, as in the case of Música no Coração resulting in its solution being made available to thousands of people during the country’s biggest music festivals, as well as the connection to the entrepreneurial ecosystem, such as the PayTech On-The-Go acceleration program, or the connection to Startup Portugal, where the startup was invited to pitch at the Above & Beyond Hangout dedicated to exploring innovative technologies and practices that could revolutionize the future of tourism. Gradually, all this contributed to its most recent milestone, being a startup present at the Web Summit. As well as being invited to present its solution at the Startup Portugal stand, it was one of the ALPHA companies to make a pitch and have a showcase space.

– Failure is also part of the journey. What do you learn most from something that didn’t go well?

We don’t really call them failures, but rather a clear awareness that there are important and urgent improvements to be made, such as, for example, improving the communication systems with our international community in order to ensure greater and perfect inclusion in the activities we carry out, especially at public events, the most institutional of which are held in Portuguese.

– What is your incubator’s differentiating factor? In other words, what is it about you that makes you unique and enhances the success of the startups you incubate?

We think that the Business Factory combines several aspects that make it very attractive. It is part of a dynamic and attractive municipality for setting up new businesses, located close to the capital, allowing any entrepreneur to establish their life and business in an area connected to the world and with easy mobility within the country and abroad, enjoying quality of life and well-being.

This versatility, combined with the strategic areas of Tourism, Sea Economy, Sustainability, Agri-food and Technology, offers unique conditions for new entrepreneurs looking to create projects linked to these areas. As the Business Factory specializes in these verticals in a municipality open to innovation, we believe it is the right place for those looking for a healthy balance between innovation and technology in conjunction with the preservation of nature, the sea, surfing, tourism, culture or agri-food industries.

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

We are mainly looking for startups in the ideation or early stage implementation phase with technology-based solutions aimed at the areas of the Sea Economy, Tourism, Technology, Sustainability and Agri-food.

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

Indeed, the community is one of our strengths and contributes greatly to having a national and international community with a drive for entrepreneurship and willing to help one another. In order to foster this spirit of cooperation, we periodically carry out various cohesion initiatives, whether at private incubator events such as the Business Breakfast or Community Bites, or events open to the public, such as webinars, conferences and open days, allowing for personal interaction and the creation of new connections. In addition, each entrepreneur always has several internal communication channels available, both with the team and with other incubatees, allowing for solid and permanent contact.

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

One of the biggest challenges currently identified is the integration of ESG sustainability into projects from the outset. In the near future, we want this to be something that is transversal to all the projects incubated at the Business Factory, but we find it difficult for many companies at an early stage to respond to this challenge. The will is there, but implementation is sometimes very difficult.

– Do you want to share any news with us? Any events or initiatives that we should all keep in our diaries?

We will soon be launching a new podcast “Voices of Business: Conversations with Leaders and Entrepreneurs”. 🤫 Stay tuned for more news! And we have a wide range of activities planned for 2025, some of which we have already developed over the last few years, such as Entrepreneurship Week or Sustainability Month, and other new initiatives that we are preparing for this year.

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 Business Factory, 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.