Fábrica de Startups is looking for startups, with innovative solutions in the field of Tourism, to participate in the 6th edition of Discoveries, an acceleration program that has the support of Turismo de Portugal. Applications are open until March 7.
© Ana Oliveira, Fábrica de Startups
Applications for the 6th edition of Discoveries are officially open, an acceleration program launched in 2015 by Fábrica de Startups, with the support of Turismo de Portugal, which aims to boost the Tourism sector in Portugal, supporting national and international startups with high potential. Entrepreneurs have until March 7 to submit their applications here.
This acceleration program has in its genesis the promotion of Portugal contributing to the affirmation of our country as a Startup Lab, where projects from all over the world can base and scale their businesses.
For António Lucena de Faria “it has been a fantastic year working with Turismo de Portugal and making more and more startups want to come to Portugal and start their business here”. The Founder and CEO of Fábrica de Startups adds that “Tourism continues to be an absolutely fundamental industry for the future of our country”. For Luís Araújo, President of Turismo de Portugal, “innovation in the tourism sector has never been more important”. “We must therefore create the conditions to accelerate a sustainable recovery and demonstrate that Portugal is a competitive and innovative destination”, concludes Luís Araújo.
Taking into account the pandemic situation, the 6th edition will be conducted for the first time remotely, between March 30th and April 29th.
Throughout the program, participants will have access to:
8 bootcamps, to test and validate your business models;
a unique network of mentors, specialized partners in the sector, potential customers and investors;
workshops and webinars with special guests linked to the sector;
to the Fábrica de Startups methodologies.
On April 29, the day of the Final Pitch, the winners (up to three startups) that stand out the most win a “Touristic Innovation Tour” in Portugal, so that they can get to know the Portuguese ecosystem, potential partners and customers.
Discoveries has hosted and accelerated 82 startups from over 25 countries, under the guidance of more than 50 mentors. According to the Impact Report of Fábrica de Startups, 59% of the startups that participated in this program remain active (but in different phases), 36% received some type of investment (71% say they received private investment) and 64% managed to internationalize its business (with the largest concentration being on Europe). Among the best known cases are Consulta do Viajante, Climber RMS, PartyWith, SeaBookings and TourScanner.
TIMELINE:
January 12th | Call Open
March 7th | Call Closed
March 30th to April 22nd | Bootcamps
April 29th | Final Pitch Day