February, 17, 2025
Portuguese World Talents wants to Unite Entrepreneurs with Talent and Universities
Entrepreneurial
Bridge
World Talents has already managed to attract around 80 entrepreneurs and companies to Portugal, with total investment exceeding 2.8 million euros.
World Talents
Inês Pinto Miguel
Inês Pinto Miguel
The line of thinking of Bernardo Saraiva and Timur Sitdikov was relatively simple, and it bore fruit. Together they created World Talents, founded in 2021, which aims to connect entrepreneurs, national or international, to projects in Portugal and university ecosystems. Simply put, World Talents created a three-way bridge.
“The idea is to make a kind of bridge between entrepreneurs who want to invest in Portugal and want to be informed about projects and ecosystems in Portugal in which they can invest, and at the same time connect them with the universities,” explains the founder and CEO of World Talents, Bernardo Saraiva, to Jornal Económico.
“We’ve made partnerships with various universities, where the idea is also to help university projects get international mentors or international entrepreneurs who can help them with specific projects,” adds the CEO.
Simultaneously, World Talents works with university incubators and accelerators. In fact, the platform has helped some startups still in their embryonic stage to attract interest and international support for their development.
“It’s a win-win situation for everyone: entrepreneurs and local regions,” he highlights. This is because, according to Bernardo Saraiva, World Talents is trying to work with universities spread throughout the country.
So far, World Talents has managed to build partnerships with the University of Algarve, University of Évora, and also the University of Coimbra. “It’s been a good journey so far,” he affirms to JE.
Asked about specific markets they work with, Bernardo Saraiva admits that there are no limitations. “We have entrepreneurs from the United States, Canada, India, Japan, Turkey…” he lists regarding some of the contacts they have helped establish along the way.
This connection also aims to “increase the chances of a successful match between projects and startups and the entrepreneurs.” “One of the advantages, in our view, is that we’re not just bringing a person [entrepreneur] or the company itself. We’re bringing a whole network.”
Since its foundation, World Talents has already managed to attract around 80 entrepreneurs and companies to Portugal, with total investment exceeding 2.8 million euros. “We’re talking about an investment of around 35 thousand euros per entrepreneur, in the sense of engaging with the local ecosystem and helping the startups.”
With the United States still deciding its direction after the elections and the victory of Donald Trump, Portugal is, more than ever, in the sights of Americans. Bernardo Saraiva confirms this is a continuing trend. “We’ve noticed increased interest from Americans exploring international alternatives. Portugal is very attractive for numerous reasons, and we can facilitate a way to benefit from the fact that the United States is polarized and help the Portuguese ecosystems,” he states.
The Middle East is also looking closely at what’s happening within Portuguese borders. “I think this is also due to political stability. Entrepreneurs, when they have businesses in more uncertain places [geopolitical terms], are always looking for calmer alternatives. They invest a bit all over the world, and Portugal ends up being no exception.”
One of Portugal’s advantages is “having a very qualified and not very expensive workforce,” says the platform’s leader.
World Talents is still in an expansion phase in terms of university partnerships. “As we are growing and have more entrepreneurs, we also need to have more local projects and more companies being generated.”
Currently, World Talents has five partner universities on its platform, with the goal being to continue growing and be present in all (or almost all) universities. “The idea is to have a wider range to have more availability, projects, and more companies that may be interesting. We know that some universities are better in certain areas than others.”
“The idea is to make a kind of bridge between entrepreneurs who want to invest in Portugal and want to be informed about projects and ecosystems in Portugal in which they can invest, and at the same time connect them with the universities,” explains the founder and CEO of World Talents, Bernardo Saraiva, to Jornal Económico.
“We’ve made partnerships with various universities, where the idea is also to help university projects get international mentors or international entrepreneurs who can help them with specific projects,” adds the CEO.
Simultaneously, World Talents works with university incubators and accelerators. In fact, the platform has helped some startups still in their embryonic stage to attract interest and international support for their development.
“It’s a win-win situation for everyone: entrepreneurs and local regions,” he highlights. This is because, according to Bernardo Saraiva, World Talents is trying to work with universities spread throughout the country.
So far, World Talents has managed to build partnerships with the University of Algarve, University of Évora, and also the University of Coimbra. “It’s been a good journey so far,” he affirms to JE.
Asked about specific markets they work with, Bernardo Saraiva admits that there are no limitations. “We have entrepreneurs from the United States, Canada, India, Japan, Turkey…” he lists regarding some of the contacts they have helped establish along the way.
This connection also aims to “increase the chances of a successful match between projects and startups and the entrepreneurs.” “One of the advantages, in our view, is that we’re not just bringing a person [entrepreneur] or the company itself. We’re bringing a whole network.”
Since its foundation, World Talents has already managed to attract around 80 entrepreneurs and companies to Portugal, with total investment exceeding 2.8 million euros. “We’re talking about an investment of around 35 thousand euros per entrepreneur, in the sense of engaging with the local ecosystem and helping the startups.”
With the United States still deciding its direction after the elections and the victory of Donald Trump, Portugal is, more than ever, in the sights of Americans. Bernardo Saraiva confirms this is a continuing trend. “We’ve noticed increased interest from Americans exploring international alternatives. Portugal is very attractive for numerous reasons, and we can facilitate a way to benefit from the fact that the United States is polarized and help the Portuguese ecosystems,” he states.
The Middle East is also looking closely at what’s happening within Portuguese borders. “I think this is also due to political stability. Entrepreneurs, when they have businesses in more uncertain places [geopolitical terms], are always looking for calmer alternatives. They invest a bit all over the world, and Portugal ends up being no exception.”
One of Portugal’s advantages is “having a very qualified and not very expensive workforce,” says the platform’s leader.
World Talents is still in an expansion phase in terms of university partnerships. “As we are growing and have more entrepreneurs, we also need to have more local projects and more companies being generated.”
Currently, World Talents has five partner universities on its platform, with the goal being to continue growing and be present in all (or almost all) universities. “The idea is to have a wider range to have more availability, projects, and more companies that may be interesting. We know that some universities are better in certain areas than others.”