Algarve tech hub could plant the seed for Portugal’s Silicon Valley

The Algarve Tech Hub that will be built at the University of the Algarve’s Penha Campus in Faro will become a reality within two years.

The project aims to create a hub of Communication and Information Technology  (ITC) companies in the region and “plant a seed” which could “turn the Algarve into our very own made-to-measure Silicon Valley”.

The idea to create a Technology Hub in the Algarve is nothing new. The Algarve STP, an association which includes Faro City Council, Loulé Town Council, ANJE (an association of young entrepreneurs) and the University of the Algarve was formed in 2001.

Then the idea was to build a hub of this kind at the Parque das Cidades (Park of the Cities) but the project never got off the drawing board.

Now, 17 years on, the location has changed, technology has moved on in leaps and bounds, and new companies have sprung up which have also got on board the Tech Hub project which will now become a reality.

Paulo Águas, the Dean of the University of the Algarve told the publication Sul Informação that he hoped that the technology hub would be “ready within two years” adding that it would “cover a 3,000m2 area with offices and premises capable of employing around 300 people.”