Vougapark’s Project Manager, Andreia Fonseca, was in attendance representing our innovation park at a meeting held in partnership with the Municipality of Albergaria-a-Velha on Tuesday, July 2, 2025. 

The event began with a guided tour of the Albergaria-a-Velha Incubator, followed by a presentation from Maria João Cardoso of Informa DB, who shared an exclusive overview of the regional ecosystem. She highlighted that the Centro Region is the third-largest in the country by number of startups (544), employing 3,300 professionals with average salaries of €1,500 (36 % above the regional average). In addition, 76 % of these startups are dedicated to high-technology, knowledge-intensive services—a clear indicator of the region’s innovative potential (Source: Informa DB, StartUP Portugal).

Next came the panel “What Makes up Regional Ecosystems?”, featuring:

• Rui Lopes (CRInove), who underlined the role of startups in addressing territorial challenges;
• Sandra Figueiredo (Albergaria-a-Velha Incubator), who showcased an entrepreneurship strategy starting at the primary-school level;
• Jorge Pimentel (IPN Coimbra), who detailed support initiatives for entrepreneurs over 50;
• Adriana Costa (University of Aveiro Incubator), who emphasized the strong university-business connection as a driver of real impact in the region.

To close, a workshop led by David Magboulé brought together incubator representatives to identify opportunities for intraregional collaboration and to define a joint action plan for the coming months.

“By holding these events in ecosystems outside the major centres, we have the opportunity to showcase our projects and initiatives, giving greater relevance to the work we do with the entrepreneurs in our region.”
– Andreia Fonseca, Project Manager at Vougapark.

This meeting reinforces Vougapark’s commitment to fostering territorial innovation and strengthening ties with strategic partners in the Centro Region.