Two-thirds of Portugal’s seed investors in startups optimistic about investing in 2025
More than two-thirds of Portugal’s startup investors are optimistic about seed stage investments in the first half of 2025.
According to Investors Portugal Barometer, this optimism is not a reflection of exit opportunities for which they show less optimism for the first six months of the year.
However, the majority of Portuguese investors revealed that they had had greater difficulty in raising capital in the second half of 2024 and are calling for greater stability in public policies regarding the sector as well as creating tax incentives in line with best European practices and to boost secondary transactions.
About three-quarters of national early-stage investors said they were optimistic about the number of investments to be made in the first half of 2025 and the amounts to be invested, according to the 3rd edition of the ‘Early Stage Investment Barometer’, a survey of the feelings and perspectives of investors in the Portuguese ecosystem, carried out by Investors Portugal – the Portuguese Association of Early Stage Investors.
However, most investors (58%) are pessimistic about potential divestment opportunities (exit), a negative variation of 26 percentage points (pp.) in this indicator compared to the same period last year.
Investor sentiment regarding early stage investment activity in the second half of last year remained positive for the majority of respondents (68%). Nevertheless, 71% of investors indicated that they had had greater difficulty raising capital and 78% that there were fewer exit opportunities in this half of the year.
“It is interesting to see the optimism of investors in terms of opportunities and amounts to invest in the first six months of this year, although there continues to be a less favorable climate in relation to the prospects of exit. This sentiment mirrors a structural problem in the national ecosystem: limited liquidity for sale or secondary market transactions”, said the president of Investors Portugal, Lurdes Gramaxo.
Public policies for the sector continue to be unsatisfactory for more than half of the respondents (55%, 3 pp down on the previous half). The stability and predictability in public policies and regulations for the sector; the establishment of tax incentives for investors in line with European best practices; and the launch of initiatives that promote transactions in the secondary market are some of the measures suggested by investors to value and boost the ecosystem.
“The measures suggested by investors in this barometer confirm the priorities that Investors Portugal has defended in the various forums and with government entities and other stakeholders in the sector”, underscores Lurdes Gramaxo.
The “Early Stage Investment Barometer” for the second half of 2024 is based on a survey carried out with a sample that represents about 30% of the early stage investment ecosystem in Portugal, with the aim of better understanding the ecosystem and its needs, as well as outlining trends and defining strategies.
Investors Portugal brings together and represents the Portuguese community of Business Angels, Venture Capital, Corporate VCs, accelerators, incubators, crowdfunding platforms and other players that invest in the early stage.
The association promotes its members to national and international institutions, fosters lines of relationship and support between the various players in the national entrepreneurial ecosystem, training and disseminating best practices and information about the sector in Portugal.
