Invest Lisboa

Invest Lisboa, founded in 2009 as a partnership between Lisbon City Council and the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce with AICEP support, is a one-stop shop offering free, personalised and confidential support to companies, investors and entrepreneurs settling in Lisbon — advice, information, contacts, premises and investment opportunities, plus training courses.

Its stated objectives are to promote Lisbon as efficiently and effectively as possible, support investors, businesses and entrepreneurs throughout the decision-making process, foster an environment favourable to attracting investment, companies and talent, and engage partners and resources to implement projects that boost the economy.

Invest Lisboa acts as an investment facilitator, offering advice, information, contacts, help locating premises, research into investment opportunities, identification of potential business partners, and training courses on topics such as business plans, licensing and search engine optimisation; it discontinued its free Property Clinic service in order to concentrate resources on personalised support.

Since 2009 it has supported more than 3,000 investment projects, companies and entrepreneurs; in 2017 it participated in 87 events and 22 international fairs and welcomed 80 foreign business delegations. fDi ranked its strategy second-best in Southern Europe for attracting investment (2016), and since 2015 private funding from international promotion has exceeded the City Council's contribution. A low-cost rental auction run with EPUL let out 52 shops in one afternoon.

Invest Lisboa is described as one of the main promoters of the city and credited with helping Start Up Lisboa grow into its current form; a 2014 partnership with Baía do Tejo extended its reach to industries and logistics operators needing larger sites. It presents its approach as replicable through a culture of public service, accessibility and pragmatism, and by using interns from EuroYouth/IEFP programmes to manage its workload.