Brussels, November 2, 2017 - EIT Digital and ANJE - the Portuguese Association of Young Entrepreneurs announce their new collaboration to help further develop the Portuguese scaleup to play an increasingly important role in the emerging European digital landscape.
Over its 30 years in existence, ANJE - Portuguese Association of Young Entrepreneurs, has made a name for itself by encouraging the adoption of business models based on research and development, and focusing on what is called "qualified entrepreneurship" in order to create conditions for young people to convert their knowledge into business value. A player that fosters and facilitates cooperation between institutions and the complementary nature of the actions taken by the various players and agents in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, ANJE works to facilitate cooperation between companies and universities, R&D units and innovation centres.
EIT Digital & ANJE: a key partnership for the Portuguese scaleup ecosystem
The partnership signed this fall between ANJE and EIT Digital will involve the joint design and execution of initiatives aimed at further growing the scaleup movement in Portugal. EIT Digital is a leading European innovation and entrepreneurial education organisation driving Europe's digital transformation. The partnership unfolds under the brand WE'BIZ Talks, with three areas of activity. The first involves the WE'BIZ Talks sessions, promoting contact between European corporates, investors and scaleups with Portuguese startups and scaleups. The WE'BIZ Walking Tour is the second, taking international journalists on a tour on some of the best Portuguese scaleups. The third activity concerns European policy and aims to share good practices to build scaleup nations.
"The partnership recently signed with EIT Digital is a big step for ANJE operational strategy because it allows us to reinforce our resources and expertise to offer stronger daily support of the growing scaleup movement in Portugal. The global influence, network and know-how of EIT Digital, allied with ANJE's nationwide reach, significantly improves the prospects of Portuguese startups and scaleups to successfully pursue their growth strategies", refers Adelino Costa Matos, President of ANJE.
Fabio Pianesi, EIT Digital's Head of External Collaboration said: "We are thrilled by the opportunities that this new cooperation with a major Portuguese innovation actor offers us in increasing our contribution to the growth of the Portuguese innovation ecosystem. Working together, we will be able to provide more and more opportunities to entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses internationally, whilst supporting the growth and European positioning of the entire Portuguese innovation ecosystem."
The collaboration between ANJE and EIT Digital takes place within the framework of ARISE Europe, EIT Digital's implementation of the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS). ARISE Europe is designed to stimulate regional growth in EU countries where EIT Digital is not physically present with a node. Its objective is to connect local and regional innovation centres and their ecosystems to EIT Digital's Europe-wide innovation and education ecosystem.
