The Reason Why Every Innovator is Going to Lisbon

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In recent years, Lisbon has emerged as a leading example of urban transformation powered by innovation, collaboration, and forward-thinking governance.

Over the past decade, local governments and civic leaders have taken significant steps to enhance the ease of doing business, reduce bureaucracy, and invest in strategic urban planning. These efforts have helped cultivate a robust talent pipeline and attracted new businesses to the region.

Today, the city is home to more than 2,000 registered startups, making Portugal the European country with the highest number of startups per capita (13 percent above the European average).

In 2023, the city was recognized by the European Commission as the European Capital of Innovation (iCapital)—a prestigious title accompanied by a €1 million prize.

The European Commission highlighted not only Lisbon's emerging startup ecosystem but also its commitment to aligning technology with social inclusion, environmental sustainability, and citizen well-being.

A decade of transformation

A pivotal milestone into this journey of transforming Lisbon into a global innovation hub was the establishment of the Associação para a Inovação e Empreendedorismo de Lisboa (AIEL) in 2011.

Created by the Municipality of Lisbon, bank Montepio, and IAPMEI (Portuguese Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation), AIEL's goal is to foster innovation and entrepreneurship across the city.

This initiative was soon followed by the launch of Startup Lisboa in 2012—a nonprofit incubator that supports startups and entrepreneurs in their early stages.

Together, AIEL and Startup Lisboa laid the foundation for Lisbon’s thriving innovation ecosystem, which has seen consistent investment growth in the start-up sector since 2016 (around 30% annually).

Other initiatives, such as the annual conference Web Summit (relocated to Lisbon in 2016) also helped to promote the city on the world stage and to cement its status as a dynamic hub for innovation and technology.

In 2021, the election of Carlos Moedas as Mayor of Lisbon further accelerated the city's transformation. During his tenure as European Commissioner for Research, Science, and Innovation, Moedas realized that Europe had a strong portfolio of research and knowledge production—but lacked the capacity to convert that knowledge into economic value through innovation. Since he was sworn in as mayor, his administration has worked to reverse this trend by investing into building innovation capacity in Lisbon.

Two major initiatives—Unicorn Factory Lisbon, Smart Open Lisboa (SOL)—are leading the way in making this vision a reality. GFCC member The Catholic University of Portugal (UCP) has also been putting forward a flagship agenda focused on innovation and entrepreneurship.

Unicorn Factory Lisbon

The Unicorn Factory is Lisbon’s flagship initiative to cement its place among Europe’s top innovation hubs. It is not just a startup incubator—it is an innovation engine that supports ventures across every stage of development, from early ideation to full-scale growth.

Its scope promotes a comprehensive approach that weaves together education, talent development, and global networking. It offers acceleration programs tailored for both startups and scaleups (main focus), alongside thematic innovation programs that help businesses refine their strategies and connect with industry leaders.

Launched in 2022, the Unicorn Factory has already helped raise over €1 billion in funding, supported more than 820 startups, and attracted over 60 new technology centers to the city, including 12 companies that have reached unicorn status—startups valued at over $1 billion.

Together, these businesses have announced the creation of 14,000 highly skilled jobs. In three years, the Unicorn Factory has also run 13 innovation programs that have incubated and accelerated over 370 companies.

Additionally, through strong partnerships with universities, such as UCP (associate partner), the Unicorn Factory fosters educational programs that prepare students for the challenges of entrepreneurship and technological innovation. More than 1,300 students have already participated in these initiatives, gaining hands-on experience and exposure to real-world startup dynamics.

What sets the Unicorn Factory apart is its holistic approach to ecosystem building. It does not treat innovation as a siloed activity. Instead, it integrates it with the city’s educational institutions, public infrastructure, and private sector capabilities. This model is one of the reasons that stood out to the European Commission when it awarded the city the iCapital prize.

Smart Open Lisboa (SOL)

While the Unicorn Factory nurtures companies, Smart Open Lisboa (SOL) focuses on leveraging solutions to improve urban life. SOL is an open innovation platform designed by the City of Lisbon to validate, pilot, and implement startup-driven innovations in real-world environments. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for citizens by solving complex urban challenges through collaboration between startups, businesses, and the local government.

By connecting startups with established corporations and giving them access to real-time data and live environments, SOL allows innovations to be tested and validated under actual city conditions. This not only accelerates the development cycle but also ensures that solutions are both scalable and practical.

SOL has focused its efforts on critical domains that affect everyday life in Lisbon, including mobility, housing, healthcare, environmental sustainability, and energy transition. These areas reflect the city’s priorities and align with the broader European agenda for sustainable urban development.

After launching two city-wide programs that addressed a broad spectrum of urban challenges, SOL began rolling out two sector-specific verticals: SOL Mobility and SOL Housing. These programs are designed to address pressing issues, such as traffic congestion, affordable housing, and sustainable energy, by co-creating and deploying cutting-edge technological solutions. Each vertical brings together key stakeholders from the public and private sectors, along with high-potential startups from around the world.

SOL’s approach reflects Lisbon’s broader commitment to the concept of a smart city, where urban systems are integrated and optimized through the use of the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and data analytics. But more importantly, it reflects a model of inclusive innovation—one that places the citizen at the center of technological transformation.

Education for the Future at UCP

UCP is a research university, which was recognized in 2024 as the most entrepreneurial university in Portugal - according to the Startup Portugal ranking this year 409 startup founders studied at UCP. 

It builds on a structure that counts on two business schools, one entrepreneurship center, and a substantial innovation portfolio including 48 active patent. It has recently licensed three technologies and generated two spin-offs. The innovations driven by UCP’s researchers are frequently recognized in entrepreneurship awards, including from the EIT Women Leadership 2025. 

UCP is currently running several innovation and entrepreneurship projects, including the EIT-HEI ELEVATE, CONNECT funded the FSE (European Social Fund) and a recently approved Tech Transfer ERDF funded project. 

UCP runs multiple entrepreneurship initiatives, including a pre-acceleration (Forward) program for students since 2021. The winners of the first edition Glooma is now an established firm with almost 1M in funding working in the healthcare space in partnerships with some of the top institutions in the country. In 2025 the program was open for the first time to students of all unites of the university and the winners were from the Medical School and the Business School. 

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Next summer, GFCC leaders land in Lisbon for a study-trip in partnership with the Catholic University of Portugal.

This immersive and dynamic event will offer a unique opportunity to explore the critical interplay between academic institutions, local industry, city strategy, and the tech entrepreneurship community—both locally and globally.

Learn more about this exclusive opportunity.