As we move from September into October, we’re entering one of the busiest stretches of the year for the Portuguese entrepreneurial ecosystem. What excites me most is seeing major events spread beyond Lisbon and Porto, with Algarve, Guimarães, Viseu, Leiria, and other cities stepping into the spotlight. This decentralization is crucial: strong local communities mean a stronger national ecosystem.

Entrepreneurship doesn’t just spark innovation, it drives local economic growth, creates jobs, and builds lasting connections. That’s why events matter: they bring people together, inspire new ideas, and set the pace for what’s ahead.

Over the next weeks, the calendar is packed. Guimarães will host Techstars Startup Week, a celebration of ideas and collaboration, while Portugal Tech Week will bring energy to the national stage. In Leiria, innovation takes the spotlight with Geekathon: Driving the Future with AI, while Viseu prepares for Techstars Weekend a hands-on sprint for new ventures.

We’ll also see communities come together through the Algarve Tech Hub Summit to promote innovation, technology and business in the Algarve and to position the region as a competitive global technology, the Mostra Inovar & Empreender, the Entrepreneurship Awards, and the Tech Run, while the EUDIS Defence Hackathon and the Techstars Community Leader Academy pushing boundaries on build, strengthen, and develop startup ecosystem. And of course, all roads will lead to Lisbon in November for the Web Summit, the biggest stage of them all.

These initiatives will help shape the next chapter of our ecosystem. I firmly believe in the power of entrepreneurship to transform local communities, and I look forward to meeting many of you at the upcoming events.

Keep following Adamastor to stay up to date with our ecosystem.

See you at the next event

✍ Quote of the week

Entrepreneurship is more than starting companies; it’s empowerment.”

Lisa-Marie Fassl, Female Founders

Week highlights go to:

• 🔷 Founder Institute Portugal presents Startup Funding in Porto: How to Raise Money for Your Business this Thursday

• 🔷 Techstars Community Leader Academy returns in September as a key initiative from the 351 Portuguese Startup Association. This 2-day (Sep 20 & 21), community-led program will bring together 40 selected leaders to receive exclusive training supported by Techstars on building successful startup communities. Learn more

• 🔷 SIMConf is accepting pre-registrations for 2026

• 🔷 City of Guimarães hosts Techstars Startup Week in October 13 - 17. All information can be found here Tickets available here

• 🔷 Set.Up IN(dustry) runned by Set.Up Guimaraes & TecMinho is accepting applications until Sep 30

• 🔷 Entrepreneurship Awards 2025 - Nominations until Sep 18 or Apply until Sep 23

• 🔷 Big Hackathon comming up 'JunctionX Lisbon 2025 — Build the Future of AI, Finance, and Society' IST Oeiras

• 🔷 EUDIS Defence Hackathon and Mentoring - PORTUGAL

Congrats

• 👏 Nutrium raises 10M Series A

• 👏 Musiversal has raised a 6 million Series A

• 👏 Algarve Joins Dubai, Lisbon, Abu Dhabi, Malaga, Miami, Palma, Barcelona, Barbados, And Auckland On The Global Hotlist Of Most Sought-After Digital Nomad And Remote Work Destinations

• 👏 Brainr raises 11M

• 👏 LoopOS won the 1st edition of Startup World Cup Portugal

• 👏 Biofab won National Innovation Award

Something to read, listen and watch

• 📚 What Innovation and R&D Strategy for Portugal’s Defense Economy? by André Marquet

📚Na era das máquinas criativas, a liderança tem de ser criativa também by Gonçalo Perdigão

• 📚 Business student’s switch from start-up success to impact investing

• 📚 TIME100 AI 2025 - Meet the innovators, leaders, and thinkers reshaping our world through groundbreaking advances in artificial intelligence

• 📚 How Smart LPs Reduce Startup Failure Rates by Carlos Mendes

• 🎧 podcast IA Hoje: IA Empresa – Como pode um advogado usar a IA na prática jurídica

• 🎥 Psychology of AI (Michal Kosinski) | DLD25

• 🎥 Peter Thiel: Going from Zero to One

• Looking for your next spark of inspiration or connection?

  Discover what’s happening in the ecosystem—check out the Adamastor Events Calendar and find the perfect event that fits your goals, your vibe, and your stage. From founder meetups to investor talks, there’s something for everyone.