Porto turning into tech hub
Portugal’s second city of Porto is turning into a technology hub with large multinational companies hiring talent reports newswire Eco.
According to studies published by InvestPorto, between 2013 and 2018, the number of FDI projects in Porto and in the Northern region of Portugal has increased 71%
Companies like Xing, Critical Techworks, Blip, Vestas and Natixis are examples of foreign companies that have chosen Porto and Matosinhos to set up their research and development centres.
According to sources within these companies, Porto and north Portugal enjoy a series of characteristics that make overseas companies feel confident to develop their innovative solutions in the region, among them top universities, a culture of responsibility, quality lifestyle, safety and security and a good climate are some of the bonuses cited.
The Danish company Vestas which supplies eolic windmills for eolic wind farms chose Porto in which to relocate its R&D centre in 2017. By 2021 total investments there should stand at around €5-€10 million.
“From a total of 99 cities we looked at to set up the centre, we chose Porto”, says Jorge Magalhães, Senior Vice-President of Vestas.
To date, the company has already hired around 300 engineers from various areas, namely mechanical engineering, electrotechnical engineering, IT engineering, electrical engineering and Big Data.
Natixis set up its IT Centre of Excellence in Porto. France’s Paris based major international banking group took the decision in 2016 while Blip, chose to set up its technology production centre in Bonfim near Porto in a €2.5 million investment in 2009. The company is owned by Paddy Power Betfair, a company listed on the London stock exchange and was voted the Best Company to Work in Portugal in 2017.