The launch in October 2020 of the €75m PORTUGAL BLUE program to boost Portugal’s VC oceantech investments and blue economy startups is an important milestone in the country’s quest to be an oceantech leader. The European Investment Fund and the Portuguese government have each injected €25m and this, in turn, is expected to trigger private investment of another €25m.
Two months later, Portugal's bluetech capability was given a vote of confidence when Portuguese non-profit Forum Oceano and its local tech promotion partner Beta-i won the bid to lead the EU’s Atlantic Smart Ports Blue Acceleration Network. Starting in 2022, this initiative will boost bluetech development across 30 Portuguese ports. It is backed by 15 funds, including the world's richest ports investor Dubai Ports World, and is expected to fuel $5bn in investments.
Ruben Eiras, Coordinator for Blue Economy Entrepreneurship, Investment & Innovation at Forum Oceano, which has over 100 members from all sectors of the Portuguese blue economy, told CompassList in an interview
