National startups generate €2.3Bn in revenues and create 25,000 jobs

Portugal’s 4,000 or so startups employ around 25,000 and have generated a turnover of €2.3Bn with business exports of €1.3Bn according to statistics released by Startup Portugal at Web Summit on Thursday.

The latest data results from an update on the criteria governing what actually constitutes a startup — companies that, among other criteria, employ less than 250 staff, with a business turnover of less than or equal to €50 million — done in partnership with Startup Portugal, IDC, and Informa D&B, and which have a entrepreneurial ecosystem profile.
All told, there are 4,073 startups in Portugal, turning over €2.3Bn and responsible for 25,000 jobs. Of these, 35% are exporters, an amount substantially above the rest of the Portuguese business network. (11%)
A third of these companies generate €1.3Bn in overseas business, a sum that represents 57% of total turnover, and 5% of total exports from service oriented companies in Portugal.
“Between 2019 and 2022 the business turnover of startups grew 24.4%, a percentage well above the 9.1% that the rest of Portugal’s companies network grew, with 26% of startups growing consecutively for three years” according to the analysis.
The impact on employment from startups has added 17% more jobs in Portugal compared to the rest of the business network (only +1,6%) with some 3.8% of startups being High Growth Companies, meaning businesses with an average annual organic growth rate in employees of 20% or higher over a period of three consecutive years.