Six years ago the Web Summit was installed in Lisbon. A decision that, at the time, was not understood. Today, Paddy Cosgrave guarantees, Lisbon is the “most attractive city in the world” and, for this reason, the co-founder of the summit admits that the event “will never leave” the Portuguese capital.
“It’s crazy!”, commented Cosgrave, who was, this Thursday, with the President of the Republic and the Minister of Economy, in a meeting with Portuguese startups of the “Road 2 Web Summit” program, in Belém.
“The question of all journalists six years ago was: ‘Why Portugal?’ And we had to spend a lot of time justifying why we had decided to go to Lisbon. Berlin, Stockholm, Amsterdam, London or Paris or any other place. No Lisbon!” he recalled.
Since then, the country has become a “factory for ‘unicorns'” (companies valued at more than a billion dollars before going public).
“Of the ten unicorns that we have in southern Europe, seven were created in Portugal. For this reason, we are becoming a nation of startups”, highlighted the Minister of Economy, António Costa Silva.
The official took advantage of the occasion and presented arguments to convince other startups to settle in Portuguese territory: “We are very friendly people, the country is very stable and very safe, one of the safest in the world. At home, do your job” . here. You are always welcome”.
The invitation is also addressed by the President of the Republic, who explains why Portugal is a power of multilateralism: “It is in Europe, but not too much in Europe. It is in the West, but not too much in the West. It is close to Africa. Latin America “It has bridges with different Americans, those from the North Atlantic and those from the South Atlantic. It is close to Asia, although it may not seem like it. And that is our strength.”
All points that were taken advantage of by the startups presented, this Thursday, at the “Road 2 Web Summit” fair and that will be in this edition of the summit. Among the outstanding projects are a wind turbine to generate energy in the home; an application of personal trainers for mental health and even a platform to recruit Ukrainian businessmen for Portugal in times of war.
For all this, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has no doubts: the Web Summit must be in Portugal.
“I feel like it’s going to be a success, this year. I’m sure. And next year, and the year after, until you find a better place. Nothing is eternal (…). best place,” she shot.
And Paddy Cosgrave had to give up: “The journalists tell us: ‘So, but are you only going to stay for another six years? Why would you leave Lisbon?’ And I think the answer is that we probably never will. ”.
For now, the Lisbon Web Summit is guaranteed until 2028. Next year, however, the event will also take place in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Source: TSF
