Invest in Portugal

Digital sector at a glance

  • Portugal presents a huge opportunity for innovative and highly specialized businesses in the Digital sector.

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  • Such potential has been recognized by the 120 companies that established operations in Portugal in the last 10 years, exporting mainly value-added services.

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  • Portugal started hosting the Web Summit in 2016, an event that positions the country on the investor’s map, gathering +70.000 people and companies each year.
16.397

No. of companies | Software Development

Calculations based on data from Statistics Portugal and Sabi (2021).

678

No. of companies | Data Centers

Calculations based on data from Statistics Portugal and Sabi (2021).

82

No. of companies | Gaming

Calculations based on data from Statistics Portugal and Sabi (2021).

Office Team Collaboration

Digital sector insights

Several factors contribute to such dynamism: high-quality talent in engineering fields, Portuguese universities with an increasingly international profile, a very high level of proficiency in English, technology readiness and digital transformation.

By the end of 2023, over 2.617 startups were registered in the country, and, of those, 6 are unicorns. Simultaneously, Portugal has over 160 certified incubators and accelerators ensuring that entrepreneurs receive the support and resources they need to thrive. Between 2017-21, the Venture Capital ecosystem rose 15x, with a record investment of €1,5B in startups in 2021.

Did you know that...

Between 2020-22, Portugal was the 4th European country to attract more FDI projects in Software & IT Services , according to the EY European Investment Monitor?

Recent FDI projects in Portugal

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Portuguese digital sector

TeamViewer (Germany)

In June 2021, TeamViewer chose Porto city to install its new Research and Development centre.

portuguese digital sector

PagerDuty (USA)

In late 2021, PagerDuty, a USA pioneer in the modernization of digital operations, chose Lisbon

portuguese digital sector

Five9 (USA)

Five9 is an industry leading provider of intelligent cloud contact centres solutions, having opened a European Research

digital sector portugal

Swiss Post (Switzerland)

In February 2023, Swiss Post opened its IT Campus in Lisbon

If it’s new, we embrace it! We play on the side of discovery and innovation. And being a small country, we play on the side of quality, not quantity. It’s part of our character.
Margarida Marques (V. President)
In May 2017, we visited Lisbon and announced the opening of the digitization hub there. We knew Lisbon was the place to be and, five years later, it's the place we want to continue to be.
Sabine Scheunert (V.P Digital)
The Digital and innovation ecosystem that soon made the Portuguese early adopters and made the country a test market for technological-related solutions is now an excellent platform
Maria Antónia Saldanha (C.M)
From day one, we found in Portugal the ideal ecosystem to grow the Natixis Center of Excellence project and an amazing entrepreneurial and innovative mentality, combined with a rich
Etienne Huret (CEO)

Last updated: 15/06/2025