O The study was promoted by Djassi África, founded in 2020 in London by the brothers Fernando and Rudolphe Cabral, and which invests in digital innovation and entrepreneurship, given the “low representation and visibility of Afro-entrepreneurs in the Portuguese innovation system”.
According to the study ‘AFROPRENEURS Report — State of Black Founders & Ventures in Portugal’, almost half (48%) are under 35 years old, women (54%) represent more than half of men, and the overwhelming majority (80% ) come from or have cultural links to Portuguese-speaking African countries, with half having Portuguese nationality and 19% having dual nationality.
Afro-entrepreneurs have high levels of education, with just over three-quarters (76%) having university degrees, among which 24% have a master’s degree and 3% have completed a doctorate.
The first of the three main motivations is financial independence, followed by solving societal problems and personal interest or passion.
Regarding the area of residence, the majority (84%) live in the metropolitan region of Lisbon (84%), in line with the global trend of high population density in urban centres.
Almost two thirds (65%) created ‘startups’ linked to digital commerce and the remainder are business ideas, with the main areas of activity being ‘media’ and creative industries, information technologies and consultancy, “which partially replicates the trend” in Portugal.
The study, which also assessed the impact of the constraints of covid-19 on the creation of ‘startups’, concludes that 59% emerged after the start of the pandemic, between 2020 and 2022″.
“The severity of the human and professional conditions faced during this period (2020-2022) stimulated entrepreneurship as a way forward”, explains the study.
In terms of business model, most (61%) are B2C (‘business to consumer’).
Almost half of the funding sources (49%) come from family and friends, and the study reveals that “the lack of financial literacy and the lack of facilitators to link entrepreneurs (demand) and investors (supply), are the main limiting factors to the access to relevant investor networks”.
Also Read: Portugal Ventures invested 18.6 million in 42 companies last year
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