Let's hear it from the Startup Nation

Ranked third as an AI startup booster and second in research and development per capita, in addition to experiencing rapid growth, Israel has been named the Startup Nation.

When Dor Shapira, the Israeli Ambassador to Portugal, shared with us (at the launch event of the Scaling Up program by Unicorn Factory Lisboa) that "in the past, every Jewish mother wanted their children to become doctors or lawyers", but "today, Jewish mothers want their children to become unicorn founders", we could understand that this is not just an outward-focused strategy but one that is lived day-to-day by everyone. And in a quest to understand and learn about the best practices in innovation and technology, the teams from Startup Lisboa and Unicorn Factory Lisboa set off to Israel!

In Jerusalem, we learned how Huji Innovate and the Hebrew University drive innovation by connecting academia and the business world. In Rehovot and Tel Aviv, we visited startup centers like The Kitchen Foodtech Hub, EcoMotion, and Colosseum,where FoodTech, mobility, and SportsTech startups are accelerated to innovate in their respective sectors.

In Haifa, we participated in the Blue Tech Summit IL.23, organized by Israel's National Center for the Blue Economy, where we had the opportunity to learn about the Israeli BlueTech ecosystem and present how we have been supporting startups and scaleups, as well as our future plans in the Blue Technology vertical. We also visited the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology.

Along the way, we also met various startups and innovative players, such as Hibob, an HRTech unicorn already present in Portugal, and other ecosystem stakeholders and policymakers. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn about the workings of the Startup Nation and discuss potential partnerships and synergies to expand the Portuguese ecosystem. Thank you to everyone we met, and a special thanks to the Israeli Embassy in Portugal for all the assistance!