The Portugal Fintech Report 2020
WELCOME
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t is with great pleasure that we welcome you to the Portugal Fintech 2020 Industry Report.
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The Portugal Fintech Report brings to you the state of the Portuguese Fintech, providing the industry statistics, as well as a reflextion on the main drivers and trends, bringing the insights of experts and exploring real examples of collaboration representing the perspectives of all stakeholders. On top of this, we also give you a deep dive into the best of Fintech in Portugal: from the top 30 Portuguese Fintechs to the high potential startups founded during 2020.
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Created completely startup-centric, Portugal Fintech has the mission to foster collaboration within the Fintech ecosystem, connecting each stakeholder. We are creating the tools to drive fruitful interaction.
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2020 was severelly marked by the hit of Covid-19 pandemic, navigating its impact and responding to new challenges posed by it. Committed to our mission, Portugal Fintech developed several initiatives to support the Fintechs by conducting careful studies on the different initiatives promoted by the Government to help businesses, listening to the pains and concerns of stakeholders and bringing those insights to the policymakers, as well as showcasing the value that Portuguese Fintechs were bringing to the Financial Sector in a time when Digital Transformation became an imperative priority to every organization. Some of the most basic functions such as opening a bank account, buying a product, collect a payment, claim an insurance were forced to move quickly into a digital journey. After the initial stage of the lockdown where almost all projects were halted, Portuguese fintechs grew their activity to levels higher than pre-crisis. They proved to be a solid catalyzer of this transformation. Looking forward, will we see the industry going beyond simply moving digital? Will journeys be strongly re-imagined and simplified leveraged by new technologies=
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Acting as enablers and connectors has been, and will continue to be, our focus. As such, we hope this report can be insightful. Based on the report's data we can highlight that:
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Despite the pandemic constraints, Portuguese fintechs kept last year's trend of growth. Not only have the existing ones consolidated sales, achieved international expansion and grew funding, but also new companies have emerged.
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Portugal as a European Fintech Hub. We see an increasing trend of international fintechs moving to Portugal. Not just commercially, but also as a second office or even as the place to start the expansion to Europe. The Fintech House has been the physical representation of this reality.
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Mature players are finally using fintechs as their catalyzer to a real and deep digital transformation. We report multiple tangible use-cases.
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Regulation is open to innovation. The second edition of the Finlab kept the momentum with strong participation from startups and, this year, from incumbents.
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Innovation never stops. Neither do we.
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We are
EMPOWERING THE FINTECH ECOSYSTEM
ABOUT
PORTUGAL FINTECH
P
ortugal Fintech is a startup-centric network which brings together the key stakeholders of the industry - from founders, investors, regulators, and academia, to incumbents in banking, insurance, consultancy and law firms - to create the best conditions for the development of the Fintech ecosystem.
The main initiatives intend to connect startups with clients, provide them with priviledged contact with investors and help them navigate regulatory frameworks.
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As such, we drive our mission by closely engaging with, and connecting the ecosystem - promoting a common ground for dialogue and supporting the growth of Fintech in a sustainable way.
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Our activity is, thus, sustained by four pilars of actions: talend and academia, capital and investors, partners and clients, as well as regulation and policy.
MATURE PLAYERS
REGULATION
Portugal Fintech connects Fintechs and Incumbents to foster collaborative win-win partnerships. Entrepreneurs are, then, more prepared to develop products and services that empower incumbents and benefit the consumer. This relation is, hence, imperative for the growth of an innovative financial system.
Collaborating with regulatory agencies and legislators to help create an easier, faster and clearer environment for innovation is a priority for us. It was with that in mind that Portugal Fintech co-created the Portugal FinLab - a communication channel between the Portuguese financial regulators (BdP, CMVM and ASF) which aims to provide regulatory clarity to financial innovation projects.
ACADEMIA
Through a close relationship with Universities, Portugal Fintech promotes awareness to the Fintech ecosystem at all layers of talent.
It is the understanding of the startups' needs in terms of talent, along with the proximity with the best professionals and academia hubs, that allows to connect these two for the development of Fintech projects.
INVESTORS
We connect the Portuguese Fintech ecosystem with investors at a national and international level, from networking events to 1-on-1 meetings. We have built a network of expert investors, from Business Angels, to Corporate Investors and Venture Capital funds that can best support each company on its journey.
The Fintech
House
THE MUST GO PLACE FOR FINTECH
The Fintech House was launched in January 2020 and is the home of the fintech community. On top of a physical space to base their offices, Startups have now a place to develop their solutions through a closer contact with the entire ecosystem, from banks, insurance companies, partners, technical consultants, legal firms, investors or regulators.
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The Fintech House was bron from collaboration itself. One of the biggest co-working operators in the country - Sitio - brings the knowledge and experience of building +10 spaces from Lisbon to Porto, which alongside Portugal Fintech - a community enabler - created a place where startups have all the conditions to thrive.
+170
SEATS
At the Fintech House in the business district of Lisbon
+40
STARTUPS
On the network from all corners of the world
+25
PARTNERS
Contributing and committed to the growth of the ecosystem
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+30
EVENTS
Organized until the moment for the community
A PLACE FOR STARTUPS TO THRIVE
This international Hub follows Portugal Fintech's ambitions of supporting startups in four main verticals: access to capital; contact with talent; proximity with corporates; and navigating the regulatory waters. Therefore, more than being a space where innovators can work, there is a set of tools in place to accelerate each one of these pillars.
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Here, startups can access a set of services and perks, from cloud infrastructure to SaaS programs to take their business to the next level; a learning portal, where all the information created at the House is stored to be applied from businesses to technological areas; an HR Portal, to post openings and find the best talent; and last but not least, a set of communication tools to quickly get in touch with any person in the network.
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2020 was a very particular year and the Fintech House also had to adapt. After opening its physical doors, the Hub reinforced the digital infrastructure allowing any startup in the world to take advantage from it, through the virtual membership.
OPEN TO ANY PLAYER IN THE INDUSTRY
The historical building "Palácio das Varandas" or "The Balcony Palace", in the heart of the city, is a place to close the gap between the players in the industry to foster innovation and specially collaboration. Being on the areas of Fintech, Insurtech, Regtech or Cybersecurity, its 5 floors and more than 170 seats available are open to any players to:
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Host and organize their own events - both public and private on the 100 m2 auditorium;
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Understand the best practices in the ecosystem and meet the best startups to work with;
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Run sprints and accelerate the development of unique use cases with the startups;
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Create tailored programs such as accelerators or hackathons.
PARTNERS
