Porto Leading Investors generate 26,000 jobs and 2,073 million euros in national production

All being said, between 2019 and 2022 these companies invested 222 million euros in Porto and generated 2,301 million euros in production in the city. They also generated 715 million euros in household income (54% direct) and 209 million euros in tax revenue.

Among the 43 companies in this program, 65% of which are national and the rest from 12 countries, are Blip, Critical Software, Five9, Natixis, Euronext, Farfetch, Maersk and Critical Techworks. During this period, they have all given "decisive" proof of their economic, social and environmental impact on the city's economy. Whether through competitiveness or dynamic innovation, "they have contributed to the consolidation of Porto as an international technological hub”, can be read in the study. This is because, according to the same document, "Porto Leading Investors stimulate competitiveness, attract and train qualified talent in Porto, helping to strengthen the business fabric of the region and the country". Porto today represents an important hub for talent, innovation and technology, with potential for growth.

For this reason, the study team concludes that this "economic, social and environmental impact of the program can be amplified by two distinct but complementary means": the consolidation and expansion of the companies already included in the program and the attraction of new companies with firm investment commitments in the city".

In 2022, 87% of Porto Leading Investors' turnover came from the international market, and these companies contributed 484 million euros to the national trade balance. It is, however, "the impacts induced by the income made possible through workers' salaries that generate the greatest multiplier effect in the Portuguese economy", the study reads.

The weight of the value generated by Porto Leading Investors in the Porto Metropolitan Area (AMP), in the sectors in which they operate, is around 15%. This group of companies also has a direct impact on employment in Porto of around 7%, according to the same study.

Of these 43 companies, 88% carry out innovation activities and 44% offer products or services with a direct positive environmental impact. Information and communication technologies (ICT) and shared services dominate, accounting for almost three out of every company in the Porto Leading Investors group. To attract investment, retain and expand investor activity, offer a service of excellence and anticipate risk. These are the four objectives of this municipal program.

Given these figures, the Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, believes that the city is on the right track. "As this study proves, Porto is well prepared to respond to the current demands of competitiveness and the challenges of the digital, energy and climate transition."The dynamism of Porto's innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, anchored in a consolidated regional scientific and technological system, has attracted foreign investors and companies: Porto has become a real engine of the regional economy, and in 2023 it was highlighted by the Financial Times as "The best large city for foreign investment in Europe".

Between 2017 and 2023, for every million euros invested in the AMP, around three jobs were created, a much higher figure than in Portugal (1.4) and Western Europe (0.6).

"We have been able to attract investment. In Porto we have been able to attract investment thanks to the talent we train in our academy and the dynamism of our entrepreneurial ecosystem, as well as the city's quality of life and levels of well-being," explains the Porto mayor.

"National and international investors find qualified staff in Porto at competitive costs, R&D centers of excellence, good transport infrastructures, installed technological capacity and a strategic location in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula." On the other hand, he adds, "the growth of tourism in Porto projects abroad the image of a modern city, with quality of life, internal security, social stability and economic potential". The growth of tourism in Porto projects abroad the image of a modern city, with quality of life, internal security, social stability and economic potential.

Rui Moreira points out that InvestPorto has already supported around 1.8 billion euros of investment and the creation of more than 22,000 direct jobs". The independent mayor argues that, "despite the good results achieved in creating and attracting talent, investment and entrepreneurship, the city must continue to be ambitious". "We have to deepen the transformation of the local economy in order to generate more qualified jobs, more business opportunities, more academia-business projects, more business innovation," he notes.

Ricardo Valente, City Council for Economy, Employment and Entrepreneurship, stresses that, "recognizing the vital role played by larger companies in generating employment and increasing added value, Porto has invested in creating an environment conducive to the installation and expansion of business activity in its territory".

"Through appropriate policies and incentives, the city not only attracts investors, but also fosters the emergence of local ventures, generating jobs and boosting the local and regional economy," says the councillor. "We are aware that simply attracting investment is not enough to guarantee sustainable growth. It is also essential to attract and retain talent, because it is talent that drives innovation and progress in companies," concludes Ricardo Valente.

Read the full study here