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Tech industry players are moving to Portugal Here’s why you should take notice.
Portugal probably isn’t the first country that springs to mind when thinking about startup scenes. Hit hard by 2008 financial crash, Portugal – and in particular its capital, Lisbon – struggled to keep its head above water in the years soon after. Its economy contracted by 3.2 percent in 2012 and unemployment hit 18 percent during the crisis.

But the country of 10.3 million people has since made a remarkable turnaround.

Today, the IMF forecasts a 2.5 percent growth rate, and unemployment dropped to below 10 percent this year for the first time in nearly a decade. And while some 500,000 graduates left the country during the crisis, 60 percent have now returned reinvigorated and inspired by the country’s now growing economy.

For an economy which exited a €78 billion international bailout program three years ago, it has come a long way. And startups are latching onto this growth. Here are three reasons why having a startup in this booming ecosystem is good thing right now: