Startup & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Report 2024

Each year, Startup Portugal, in partnership with IDC, Informa D&B, and Dealroom.co, publishes the Startup & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Report. This Report, which is once again sponsored by Huawei, is a comprehensive study of the Portuguese startup landscape, 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.

Our analysis of the ecosystem determines the number of startups in Portugal and their profiles utilizing the definition established in the Law no. 21/2023, published in May 2023. 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 4,719 startups in Portugal in 2024, 16% more than in the previous year, representing an aggregate turnover of 2.6 billion euros, 1.5 million euros in exports and more than 26,000 jobs in Portugal. What’s more, over two thirds of these startups have been founded in the past five years, showcasing the rapid growth of the Portuguese ecosystem.

The universe of the startups analyzed have a stronger export vocation than the average business. A third of these companies do business with foreign markets, which account for 58% of their total turnover. In the business community as a whole, there are 11% of exporters, with the value of exports accounting for 20% of their turnover.

Between 2020 and 2023, the turnover of startups grew by a compound average growth rate (CAGR) of 30% per year, while their employment grew by 19%. In the same period and for the same indicators, the growth of the business fabric was 14% and 4% respectively.

This report benefited from the valuable input of several members of  Startup Portugal’s Strategic Council, important stakeholders in different areas of the ecosystem.

You can download and read the full report here.

Sponsored by Huawei.