Uniting the business ecosystem in the Algarve

One of the event’s main partners and promoters is Algarve Revolution, an independent and non-profit organisation dedicated to the growth of the entrepreneurial landscape in the Algarve, particularly the technology sector, in a region that has long been undervalued as a location to base such a business in favour of major hubs such as Lisbon and Porto.

“We bring together entrepreneurs, startups, established and innovative companies, professionals, mentors, investors, and other organisations, helping create the connections and opportunities needed for people and companies to grow from the Algarve”, António Guerreiro, Director of Algarve Evolution, told The Portugal News.

A hub for connection

Today, the association comprises a community of more than 100 members of the Algarve’s rising technology industry.

Its role is to serve as a hub connecting all these companies with the region’s universities and municipalities, as well as other organisations from Portugal and across the world that have an interest in the area’s development.

Algarve Revolution is organised around three main pillars: Education, Startups & SMEs, and Ecosystem. “Education is about developing entrepreneurial and future-ready skills, while Startups & SMEs is focused on helping entrepreneurs and companies start, grow and become more competitive”, António elaborated. “The ecosystem pillar is about connecting people and organisations, encouraging collaboration and helping the Algarve operate more as one interconnected entrepreneurial region.”

A large proportion of their work involves supporting small and medium-sized local businesses to grow through counselling. They organise a range of entrepreneurship programmes, workshops, community events, hackathons, and other initiatives, aiming to create networking opportunities for up-and-coming businesses.

“One of our current projects supports tourism SMEs in adopting new technologies and improving their competitiveness”, António shared. “We are also preparing the launch of Founder2Founder, a six-month mentoring and acceleration programme for companies that already have customers and revenue and want to move to the next stage of growth.”

Regional stage

The other side of their work is acting as a uniting figure on the regional stage, bringing together entrepreneurs, companies, universities, municipalities, and other organisations to discuss the Algarve’s economic development. As such, they have been more than happy to work together with LEDEX Events to organise the LEDEX Forum, which is due to occur on 15 October.

“LEDEX is very aligned with what we are trying to achieve: bringing ambitious people together, creating meaningful connections and exposing the Algarve to new ideas, companies, and opportunities”, António explained. “For us, supporting LEDEX is not simply about supporting another event. It is about helping create a stronger business culture in the Algarve and creating more opportunities for entrepreneurs and professionals in the region to connect with people they might otherwise never meet.”

This event is significant in the story of the Algarve’s growth as a tech hub, as the region’s business ecosystem isn’t as large as Lisbon’s or Porto’s, and its population is much more dispersed, so opportunities to bring everyone together are rarer. As faceless as they may seem, companies are run by people who can only be in one place at a time, and so the success of their company is largely influenced by the environment they’re in.

In Lisbon, a corporate leader could stumble into any one of over a million individual people in a local coffee shop while they’re enjoying their morning rice cake and unexpectedly find a useful business partnership. The same cannot happen on a similar scale in the Algarve.

This is where an event such as LEDEX becomes vital. “A conversation at an event can become a client relationship, an investment, a partnership, or even a new company. They also help SMEs understand and adopt technologies such as AI. Many companies know AI will affect their business, but they still need practical examples, knowledge, and the right people around them to understand how to use it”, António highlighted. “However, the real value comes when events are connected to an ecosystem that continues the conversation afterwards. Events should be an entry point into a community rather than isolated moments.”

Innovative potential

Algarve Evolution, as the association’s name suggests, believes in evolving the region’s economy by building on its core strengths. “We need to go beyond tourism and build a more diversified economy, but that does not mean moving away from tourism. It also means making tourism itself more competitive, more productive, and more technological”, António argued. “There are also significant opportunities in areas such as the blue economy, health, agrifood, sustainability, and the creative industries, while digital technologies and AI can be applied across all of them.”

He also outlined how the region has many traits that lend themselves to fostering a flourishing startup ecosystem. “It is a relatively small region, but it has an international population, strong tourism flows, a university, and a growing economic environment. That can make it a very interesting real-world testing ground for new products and services”.

However, challenges remain in basing a business in the Algarve.

António described three main obstacles that he’s working to overcome: scale, mindset, and fragmentation. “The Algarve has a relatively small technology ecosystem compared with Lisbon, Porto, or other European hubs. Companies can therefore find it harder to recruit specialised talent, access investment, and identify customers or partners locally. At the same time, I think there is still an outdated perception that being based in the Algarve means being far from the main centres. In reality, the region is very well connected internationally, with Faro, Seville, and Lisbon airports all within roughly two hours and fifteen minutes by car from parts of the Algarve”, he stated. “The Algarve already has many of the right ingredients, such as organisations eager to evolve, talented people, and valuable initiatives across the region. The next step is to strengthen the connections between them and unlock even more collaboration at a regional level.”

With this in mind, the decision to host the LEDEX Forum in Olhão, when they could’ve picked anywhere in the world, is notable. It demonstrates a belief in the latent potential the Algarve has as a hub for innovation.

The event carries with it a message to be imparted to all those who attend: “That it is not too late to join the AI conversation”, António concluded. “Companies can still compete, as long as they have the right mindset, remain open to learning, and are willing to cooperate and compete at the same time.”