Soft-landing strategy inviting Brazilian
companies to Portugal - EU|BIC Startup
Leiria

EU|BIC Startup Leiria – internationalization strategy in Brazil 

“Portugal is a small country. Although Startup Leiria tries to have a national and European reach, is not easy to generate enough qualified leads. One and a half years ago we started to establish partnerships in other countries, with a more intense focus on Brazil. We established partnerships with universities and similar hubs in Brazil, and we had the chance to connect with Apex and Softex – the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) works to promote Brazilian products and services abroad and attract foreign investment to strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy. 

Brazil is a large country, where Portuguese share cultural ties and a common language. Brazilian Startups also look to validate models in Europe, and Portugal is an entry point for them. However, fiscal, legal, accountancy and even ways of doing business are more different than people initially realize.” 

Vítor Ferreira, General Manager of Startup Leiria

Startup Leiria has scaled over 30 Brazilian startups to access their local market. The main keys to this success are: 

• Having strong local partners 
• Using the ecosystem to their advantage 
• Helping companies above and beyond, even if there is no monetary compensation in the short-term 
• The creation of a soft-landing program as an essential ingredient 

“We have mostly scaled Brazilian companies in Portugal. The opposite is rather difficult. Nevertheless, we are trying to scale Portuguese startup operations, using the Brazilian Startups as local partners.” 

Vítor Ferreira, General Manager of Startup Leiria

Besides Softex and Apex, Startup Leiria partners with Brazilian Universities, Hubs, and Venture capitalists.