In the previous episode of Tech Odyssey, we visited Coimbra to see how university research, applied R&D, and entrepreneurship come together in a small Portuguese city. This time, we head north to Braga, where Startup Braga is helping founders build companies for global markets from an affordable starting point.
A workstation at Startup Braga costs just €30 a month. ChemiTek, one of the companies that started there, now sells its solar-panel protection products in 70 countries, with local inventory in 50 of them.
Braga is not usually the first Portuguese city associated with startups. But inside Startup Braga, the city’s ambition is clear: companies may begin locally, but they are expected to think internationally from the start.
Startup Braga is based in GNRATION, a former building used by a national police force. After its rehabilitation project won Portugal’s National Rehabilitation Prize in 2014, the building was transformed into a public space for culture, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
The incubator is part of InvestBraga, a municipal agency established in 2014 to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, investment, and economic development. It has since built a community of around 300 startups across software, AI, health technology, medical devices, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and nanotechnology. Around 20 startups are currently incubated on site.
