Brazilian delegation comes to Porto to follow a strategy of attracting investment

The Municipality of Porto signed this Tuesday a cooperation protocol with FAMURS - Federação das Associações de Municípios do Rio Grande do Sul. The Brazilian delegation was received in the City Hall by the councilman for Economy, Employment and Entrepreneurship, who presented the example of InvestPorto and the municipal strategy for attracting investment.

Ricardo Valente shared how Porto has been able to attract big companies and how they have proved to be an “engine for the development of the territory”. “We have a strategy of municipal specialization, we have to know what kind of investment we want to go for”, said the councilman.

In addition to big companies, the “innovative and competitive ecosystem” of start-ups “is very relevant”, believes the councilman who is responsible for Entrepreneurship. “Porto is the city with most start-ups, with the largest number of patents applied for and it is this ecosystem that attracts big companies”, assures Ricardo Valente.

InvestPorto’s most recent figures show more than 400 investment projects supported, from around 350 companies and investors, 65% of which are foreign direct investment, “and with a tendency to increase”. 2021 will have been a record year with a capital expenditure of around 164 million euros and 2266 more jobs created.

Why do so many companies choose Porto to settle? InvestPorto stands out talent, the innovative ecosystem, modern infrastructures, growing economy, and sustainable city.

When asked about the advantages given by the Municipality, Ricardo Valente assured that the “only thing we offer is quality of life”. In addition, he said that Porto “is the only city in the country without papers in the urban licensing”, which makes the process “very fast”.

The president of FAMURS, Eduardo Bonotto, recognized the importance “of this diagnosis and strategic planning that you [Porto] defined” and said he hoped to be able to “adapt this success “in one of the Brazilian States “with the greatest potential”, starting with the creation of a “regional agency to leverage key developments”, like InvestPorto.

The agreement signed this Tuesday establishes “an alliance” between the Porto City Hall and FAMURS “in the sense of exchanging experiences and information to attract investments to the Porto region and to the municipalities of the State of Rio Grande do Sul”.

“We are keen on partnerships”, stressed Ricardo Valente, adding that, due to the situation in Ukraine, from where two investments have already been relocated to Porto, the councilman believes that “the open mind, tolerance and respect for others, and the receiving well will be essential”.

The Federação das Associações de Municípios do Rio Grande do Sul is the entity that, formed of 25 regional associations, represents all 496 municipalities of that Brazilian State. The organization’s objectives are “to enhance and strengthen the municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul, promote the development of municipalities and regional and contribute to the qualification of municipal public agents”.