This Is Why Lisbon Was Chosen for the 2019 Web Summit
Lisbon is hosting the 2019 Web Summit, and there’s a good reason for that. Here’s what you need to know.
The 2019 Web Summit kicks off on November 4, and, like previous years, it’s expected to be the best technology conference in the world. This year’s summit is in Portugal’s capital city, which has a massive tech scene.
Startup Lisboa, the country’s top tech accelerator, director Miguel Fontes recently opened up to FDI Intelligence about why Lisbon was chosen, and why the city’s tech community is worth checking out.
1. It has a good tech infrastructure. According to Fontes, Lisbon’s tech scene started booming during the peak of the financial crisis. “Innovation played a big role in our financial recovery,” he said. “However, the ingredients were already here.” Lisbon’s talent from the city’s international education system, quality technological infrastructure, and strong public and private networks that support innovation also played a role, he said. Not only that, Lisbon is a great city for people seeking a good work-life balance, like digital nomads, he said.
2. Lisbon’s location is excellent. “Lisbon is really well positioned geographically, and well served for direct flights to important hubs in Europe, North America, and South America,” Fontes said. “It’s easy for companies to attract foreign talent to Lisbon.”
3. There are a bunch of startups in Portugal. “If you look at our country, you can only be surprised by the ratio of startups, considering our geographic and population dimension — and a lot of them have in a global reach,” Fontes said. We couldn’t agree more which is why we started NomadX in Lisbon, Portugal.
4. It has great incentives for tech investors. Startup Visa, Startup Tech Visa and the 200M fund are incentives that “stand out,” Fontes said. “I believe we’re on the right path, so the government should continue its strategy: facilitating the visa issuing and establishing co-operation frameworks with other countries,” he said.
5. The government supports the tech scene. While there were recently legislative elections in Portugal, Fontes doesn’t see political change having an impact on the tech community. “All parties are involved and committed to support these industries and fostering science and technology,” he said.
The 2019 Web Summit runs through November 7. Want to hang out in Lisbon a little longer? NomadX can help you find a mid-term rental to make your stay a little more comfortable.
ABOUT NOMADX
NOMADX is a real estate technology platform developed to meet the needs of the rapidly growing global community of location-independent remote workers, or “Digital Nomads”.
As Digital Nomads ourselves, we know what the market is looking for: trusted, affordable accommodations in highly-attractive locations worldwide at 50% less than AirBNB. We also offer educational masterclasses to help master the lifestyle as well as community events to help foster new friendships.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dave Williams is the CEO and Co-founder of NOMADX with his base in Lisbon, Portugal. Dave is a US pioneer in the digital marketing, advertising, and ad tech industries as a serial digital entrepreneur over the past 20+ years with multiple exits in the early formative stages of the search engine marketing, social media, and ad tech industries.
