Minister of the Economy says fintechs contribute towards economic growth

Portugal’s Minister of the Economy, Pedro Reis says that fintechs make a valuable contribution towards the sustainable and inclusive growth of the country’s economy.

The minister gave his opinion on Tuesday at the presentation of the Portugal Fintech Report 2024 saying that Europe could not forget that it needed to create a “balance between new regulations and the freedom to innovate” and expressed a message of hope for “new unicorns homegrown in Portugal”.

The Minister of Economy also said that a robust financial system was the basis of the economy and new technology-based companies contributed to the development of the financial ecosystem.

“Fintech companies play an important role with effective cross solutions (…) and contribute to more sustainable and inclusive economic growth,” said Pedro Reis, at the presentation ceremony of the “Portugal Fintech Report 2024”, which took place at Fintech House in Lisbon.

According to the Minister of Economy, fintechs also have a relevant role in energy transition due to their business models with more sustainable metrics. “The challenges are many, but the opportunities are greater,” he said, after going public that the funding raised by these companies grew 6% in one year.

“It is now or never for Europe to seize this opportunity and grow for itself and rewrite our history. In Europe, we must not forget to create a balance between new regulations and freedom for innovation”, warned Pedro Reis, adding that the government was aware of the importance of  fintech companies and investment because they had a different mindset focused on the corporate area.

Pedro Reis also highlighted that Portugal is rolling out measures to attract talent, which would benefit startups such as those based at Fintech House. These policies included the expansion of the Young IRS policy and policies to promote entrepreneurship and tax incentives for investment in innovative companies.