S9+ Lisbon Conference: Europe’s Startup & Digital Future

16-17 October 2025 — Pavilhão de Portugal, Lisboa

With Portugal chairing the D9+ this semester, Startup Portugal will host the S9+ Lisbon Conference alongside the D9+ Ministerial Meeting — bringing together founders, startup associations, policymakers, and ecosystem leaders to focus on what matters most for Europe’s competitiveness.The D9+ is a ministerial forum that, for several years, has gathered Europe’s most digitally advanced countries. Portugal holds the presidency in the second half of 2025, playing a central role in shaping the agenda.To ensure the voice of startups and scaleups is reflected in these discussions, the S9+ Coalition was created, uniting national startup associations from D9+ member countries. Startup Portugal has been representing the Portuguese ecosystem at recent meetings and, during this presidency, will take on an even more active role within the group.

Registration (approval required): Apply here

Why this matters now

Europe needs a practical, founder-centric agenda to compete globally — especially on AI, the Single Market, and smarter regulation. Startup Portugal and partner associations in the S9+ Coalition will convene to align recommendations with the D9+ priorities and ensure startup realities are at the table.

What to expect (16–17 Oct)

High-level dialogue with D9+ participants and S9+ delegates on AI competitiveness, regulatory coherence, and cutting bureaucracy.
Founder perspectives from across S9+ member countries, highlighting what helps (and hinders) scaling in Europe.
Targeted networking moments connecting S9+ associations, founders, and public-sector representatives.
Forward-looking policy inputs to feed into the ministerial discussions.

The S9+ focus

This year’s S9+ work builds on the coalition’s ongoing effort to leverage startups to bridge Europe’s innovation gap and keep policy anchored in real operating conditions for founders. See last year’s public declaration for context.

Key themes

Simplifying to Compete: a Digital Simplification Agenda — fewer overlapping rules, clearer enforcement, and a truly workable Single Market for startups.
Europe as the AI & Startup Continent — ensuring access to talent, compute, and capital so European startups can build and deploy world-class AI.
Digital Inclusion & Skills — upgrading skills so companies can hire faster and scale across borders.

Who should attend

Founders and operators expanding in Europe, startup association leaders, policymakers, corporate innovation leads, investors, and ecosystem builders seeking concrete, actionable ways to reduce friction and accelerate growth.