Startup & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Report 2023
Each year, Startup Portugal, in partnership with IDC, publishes the Startup & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Report. This Report is a comprehensive study of the Portuguese startup world, in order to update the key indicators of the ecosystem, facilitating the analysis of its evolution and the identification of emerging trends.
Continuing in the footsteps of previous editions, the report dissects the ecosystem along familiar dimensions: startup profiles, talent, knowledge, capital, corporations, enablers, and policies & incentives. Each section provides critical insights into its respective domain.
A significant innovation in this year’s edition is the presentation of an analysis developed in collaboration with Informa D&B. This analysis determines the number of startups in Portugal and their profiles, utilizing the definition established in the Law no. 21/2023, published last May. As such, this year’s numbers result from an extensive investigation into the business landscape, considering official companies dimensions, industry classifications, revenues, founding details, and more.
This allowed us to conclude that there are 4,073 startups in Portugal that, together, generate 2.3 billion euros in turnover and 1.3 billion euros in exports, accounting for approximately 25,000 jobs. What’s more, 75% of the startups studied have no risk of bankruptcy, a clear sign of the resilience of the Portuguese ecosystem.
Since the beginning of the last decade, the creation of startups has grown every year, with the exception of 2020. This growth has been intensifying, and 70% of the total current startups were created in the last 5 years, with 2021 and 2022 reaching the highest levels in startup creation, with 600 and 706, respectively. Another key takeaway is that the average salary of startup employees is 37% higher than that of other Portuguese companies.
It is noteworthy that investment in R&D in Portugal increased by 19% compared to the previous year, in a universe where 84% of startups are high-tech knowledge-intensive service companies. In terms of sectors, the majority of startups (3,278) belong to the Information and Communication Technologies, accounting for 61% of the total turnover of startups. Despite being significantly fewer, startups in the industrial sector represent a significant turnover of 26%.
This report benefited from the valuable input of several members of Startup Portugal’s Strategic Council, important stakeholders in different areas of the ecosystem. The Startup & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Report is sponsored by Huawei, BBVA, and Mastercard.
You can download and read the full report here.
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