Empowered Startups Ltd.

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Empowered Startups Ltd.

Advancing National Innovation. Attracting Foreign Direct Investment. Enabling Global Talent Mobility.

Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, with offices in Portugal, the U.S., and Vietnam.

06/24/2026

𝗣𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀: you’ve just landed in Portugal after a 9- or 10-hour red-eye flight. Excited and bleary-eyed, you exit your plane, only to wait in line for hours to clear passport control.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲, including Portugal. Many travelers entering and leaving Europe from outside the Schengen Area (a free-travel zone comprising 29 European countries) face long queues to enter and leave the continent.

However, this isn’t true for everyone. Those with a Portuguese residency card can bypass the long tourist lines and enter through the EU Citizen lane.

Read our recent blog for a breakdown on why long wait times are occurring, what a residency card is, and how programs like the HQA® can save you time when flying to Europe.

Have you flown to Europe recently? How long did you wait in line?

https://empoweredstartups.com/having-a-residency-card-in-portugal-has-its-privileges/

Learn about Portugal residency card privileges and how they can help you skip long airport lines when traveling.

06/15/2026

Thank you to Paulo Lopes for highlighting the opportunities that the HQA® Program brings to Portugal.

📖 The article highlights the important role municipalities such as Santarém and Coimbra can play in attracting talent, investment, and innovation. We love seeing the growing momentum and the potential for more municipalities and universities across Portugal to partner with the program.

"𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴: 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦, 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘭."

https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2026-06-13/an-opportunity-that-more-municipalities-should-embrace-in-portugal/1036472

While much of the economic debate remains focused on the challenges facing Portugal, there are concrete initiatives that are creating real opportunities for the country's future and that deserve much more attention. The recent events held in Santarém and Coimbra, in partnership with Empowered Start...

06/05/2026

Sharing Câmara Municipal de Coimbra’s announcement from the June 3 MoU signing with Empowered Startups!

Together, we hope to strengthen Coimbra’s innovation ecosystem and create new opportunities for startups, companies, and entrepreneurs in the region 🤝

🔗 Read the announcement: https://www.coimbra.pt/2026/06/coimbra-estabelece-parceria-com-aceleradora-de-empresas-internacional-para-apoiar-start-ups-e-atrair-investimento/

Parceria para atrair investimento e talento A parceria pretende reforçar a capacidade de Coimbra para atrair investimento, promover a internacionalização de projetos inovadores e criar novas oportunidades para startups, empresas e empreendedores da região. O protocolo prevê o desenvolvim...

06/04/2026

We're proud to share that yesterday at the Startup Capital Summit in Coimbra, the Câmara Municipal de Coimbra MG signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Empowered Startups to expand the HQA® Program in Portugal and further drive innovation in the region 🎉

🤝 This partnership strengthens Coimbra’s position as a growing hub for innovation, investment, and entrepreneurship. Together, we aim to attract international founders, researchers, and professionals to Portugal by supporting new ventures, driving foreign direct investment, and advancing research with real-world impact in the Coimbra Tech District.

Building on our ongoing work with the Universidade de Coimbra, this marks an important step in scaling innovation across the region.

Thank you to the Câmara Municipal de Coimbra, Ana Abrunhosa, and Startup Capital Summit for this milestone moment!

🔗 Read the press release: https://empoweredstartups.com/coimbra-signs-mou-with-empowered-startups-to-advance-hqa-program-and-build-innovation-in-the-region/

Coimbra signs MoU with Empowered Startups to boost the HQA® Program and enhance innovation in the Coimbra Tech District.

06/01/2026

We’re excited to share the official announcement from the Junta de Andalucía on our recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing, which will support the attraction of international entrepreneurs and foreign direct investment to the region.

The collaboration will help foster R&D, strengthen connections with universities and research institutions, and advance innovation-driven economic development in Andalucía.

We're looking forward to building on this partnership 🤝

🔗 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮 𝗱𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗰í𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 (in Spanish): https://www.juntadeandalucia.es/organismos/universidadinvestigacioneinnovacion/servicios/actualidad/noticias/detalle/665125.html

- Se promoverán actividades que fomenten la creación de empleo y la inversión extranjera, así como la conexión con universidades e instituciones de investigación

05/28/2026

We can’t wait for Startup Capital Summit 2026 in Coimbra next week on June 3! The Summit is regarded as Portugal’s leading event in deep tech, venture capital, innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology transfer 💡

As a proud Platinum Sponsor, we’re excited to support Portugal’s growing startup ecosystem and connect with students, entrepreneurs, and investors.

Will we see you there?

Join us at the Capital Summit 2026 in Coimbra, Portugal, to connect with entrepreneurs and investors in deep tech innovation.

Address

Unit 420/744 W Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
V6C1A5

Website

https://empoweredstartups.com/

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