The event’s second edition took place between June 21 and 23 at the University of the Algarve’s Penha Campus.

The Algarve Tech Hub Summit, which took place between June 21 and 23 at the University of the Algarve’s Penha Campus, attracted around 700 participants.

According to Paulo Santos, vice-president of the Algarve STP, this was “the consolidation of the first summit. We managed not only to bring the Algarve’s technology sector together to reflect on the challenges for the future but also to bring a group of people outside this ecosystem who were surprised by the positive, dynamic and strategic way in which the Algarve is working in this area”.

André Botelheiro, coordinator of the Communication and Protocol Office at the University of Algarve, also makes a “very positive assessment both in terms of the number of participants and the quality of the panels. The Algarve Tech Hub Summit fulfilled its objectives, which involve bringing a public interested in these matters to the Algarve”. A public that is potentially interested in settling in the Algarve to undertake, innovate, create jobs and create wealth.

For the University of Algarve, this event “validates the work done over the years and is increasingly materialising, investing in supporting entrepreneurship, technological innovation and research”.

This translates “today into an ecosystem that is real, and that is obviously very important for the diversification of the economic and social fabric of our region”, highlights Botelheiro.

 

Miguel Fernandes, president of the Algarve Evolution Association, which brings together companies in the technology sector, affirms that the Algarve Tech Hub Summit “is already the biggest innovation event in the region, and the second edition was a huge success, leaving a notable impact on the progress and affirmation of the Algarve as an innovation hub.

With its global audience and speakers, the event attracted participants from around the world, including investors, venture capitalists, and technology enthusiasts”.

Miguel Fernandes also highlights the “level of international speakers from technological centres such as Silicon Valley, in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, among others, who gave engaging presentations”.

More than 40 nationalities were represented, including investors, entrepreneurs, students, researchers, and more.

 

The president of Algarve Evolution praises the “incredible organisational team, sponsors, municipalities, local government and dedicated volunteers who made it possible”.

“If until recently the Algarve Tech Hub was a dream and seen as a project with very ambitious objectives, today we see that the Algarve is already considered by many as one of the best lifestyle hubs internationally.

We also have increasingly more remote workers, digital nomads and “new algarvians” establishing themselves in our region, undertaking and willing to collaborate with the regional ecosystem to develop and elevate the Algarve”, he adds.

“Now let the “Zebras”, “Unicorns” and many others come because, at the end of the day, we want more and better entrepreneurs and companies”, concludes Miguel Fernandes.

The Algarve Tech Hub Summit is scheduled to return in 2024 on May 30 and 31.