Seven Portuguese startup hubs make FT ranking

Seven Portuguese startup hubs including Unicorn Factory Lisboa (17th), Startup Braga (31st), Pedro Nunes Institute (42nd) enjoyed among the best rankings for Europe’s Leading Start-up Hubs.

Lispolis (62nd), Casa do Impacto (90th), Startup Leiria (68th) have also made the Financial Times Europe’s Leading Start-up Hubs as has BGI (67th).

Europe’s Leading Start Up Hubs 2025 initiative is a collaborative publication between the Financial Times, Sifted and Statista, highlighting the main startup hubs in Europe in 2025, which provides innovative knowledge about the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Europe, highlighting the cities, regions and platforms that stand out the most in supporting the development of new companies with social impact.

In this second edition of the FT ranking, a total of 3,000 hubs were appraised from 39 countries.

Unicorn Factory Lisboa – Unicorn Factory Lisboa is a Lisbon City Council flagship initiative aiming to position Lisbon as a leading European innovation centre. It empowers entrepreneurs by providing essential resources and support to bring their groundbreaking ideas to life and scale their businesses.
By fostering entrepreneurship skills from a young age, it ensures a continuous pipeline of innovative talent, sustaining Lisbon’s vibrant startup ecosystem. It has supported over 800 startups and raised around €1Bn in funding.

Lispolis – Pólo Tecnológico de Lisboa consists of an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem that supports technological and scientific companies. Located in Lisbon, it offers offices, laboratories and incubation services for startups and scale ups. It stands out for its business networking and proximity to educational and research institutions, which foster technological development and sustainable growth of the incubated projects. Currently, there are 144 companies.

Casa do Impacto, the social entrepreneurship hub of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML), has become the first platform for new social impact companies in Lisbon, focused on promoting a new generation of entrepreneurs who are developing business models with a positive socio-environmental impact, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. Five years after its creation, it already has more than 220 residents with more than 400 projects supported through 21 acceleration programmes with around €3.2 million invested.

Startup Leiria is a startup incubator and accelerator that aims to boost the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Leiria region. It offers support to innovative businesses through mentoring, acceleration programs and access to a network of investors and strategic partners. It stands out for its commitment to technological projects and the creation of a collaborative environment for growing entrepreneurs. In the last two years, Startup Leiria’s turnover has grown 109% and has total occupation and a waiting list of more than 20 companies. Since it was founded in 2020 the incubator has helped around 600 entrepreneurs.

Startup Braga – created as InvestBraga’s innovation hub – is dedicated to supporting projects of high entrepreneurial potential with global ambitions. It has promoted and developed an entrepreneurial ecosystem for the creation, acceleration and incubation of startups.
Focused on providing the best possible support to its startup community, it works with projects in the areas of nanotechnology, health technologies, digital economy, biotechnology and sustainability.

Pedro Nunes Institute – Created in 2002 at the initiative of the Pedro Nunes Institute (IPN) and the University of Coimbra, the IPN Incubator — Association for the Development of Ideas and Business Incubation Activities, is a private, non-profit institution. In the IPN business incubator, companies have, in their initial years, conditions that facilitate access to the scientific and technological system and an environment that provides the expansion of knowledge in areas such as quality, management and marketing.

Building Global Innovators (BGI) – Is a Lisbon-based accelerator and powerhouse, equipping startups and entrepreneurs from all over the world with the right knowledge, tools and networks to succeed. We have a multidisciplinary team and a vast network of mentors and partners. It has accelerated around 330 startups, raised over €600 million, and its startups have enjoyed a 70% survival rate.