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A smart city with a thriving tech scene
Key Advantages Porto hosts top IT companies and internationally renowned IT R&D centres.
#1 -A tech hub for the European Digital Market
Porto’s tech sector is strong and definitely worth keeping an eye on. The city hosts the 3rd fastest-growing tech hub in Europe according to Atomico’s State of European Tech Report. Porto's tech ecosystem recorded the second fastest job growth among all European cities in the World’s top 100 most innovative cities (2015-2020). The local IT business association, Porto Tech Hub, is comprised of leading ICT companies such as Critical Software, BLIP, Euronext, and Natixis. The city hosts more than 50 incubators and coworking spaces, and almost 300 digital/IT startups and scaleups.
#2 -Home to the country's top STEM talent
Porto’s universities are internationally recognized for their high standards in STEM fields (sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics), and Portugal is the 3rd country with the highest share of engineering graduates in Europe.

Porto’s macro-region is home to more than 61,000 STEM students, 22,200 of which enrolled in IT degrees. The region’s higher education institutions have over 4,000 IT graduates per year with solid training in computing and information technology, along with creativity, teamwork, leadership, and entrepreneurship skills.
#3 -An ideal place to test new tech

Porto offers access to a critical mass of experienced ICT resources and providers, capable of delivering complex projects. Porto and Northern Portugal is the #1 Portuguese region in patent applications, private R&D expenditure and improvement of innovation performance. Porto is home to prestigious R&D institutions, such as INESC-TEC, INEGI, CEIIA, the Institute of Telecommunications, or Fraunhofer Portugal, and boasts a variety of active university-industry and international R&D partnerships in fields such as:

  • Online services and E-commerce
  • Robotics and AI
  • Internet and Future Networks
  • Cybersecurity
  • Fintech
  • Health ICT
  • Transport and Mobility ICT
  • IoT and Industry 4.0
  • Energy ICT
#4 -State-of-the-art ICT Infrastructure

Porto features one of the most competitive and advanced ICT infrastructures of Europe. A 2021 survey by EY detailed that over 75% of established investors found Portugal’s telecommunication infrastructure attractive, and IMD’s 2021 ranking found that Portugal had the 11th best communications technology in the world. Porto boasts one of the largest public wi-fi networks in Europe, with hundreds of free hotspots in parks, buses, and stations around the city.

#5 -A leading smart city

Porto is one of the Top 100 Smart Cities in the world according to IESE Cities in Motion Index 2019. The city’s urban management strategies have benefited from digital platforms capable of linking the main urban management vectors (mobility, environment, civil protection, economic development, culture, among others), with a strong focus on data access, standardization, total interoperability between vertical applications, development of Open Data models, and networking between cities.

#6 -Available Incentives
A broad range of incentives and business support measures are available for Digital and IT companies in Porto. Use our Incentives guide tool to learn more.

You can also contact us directly to receive tailored support for your project.
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