English
Portuguese

Call For Partners

We’re launching a new, government-funded initiative to support startups and entrepreneurs in the Algarve. The goal is to connect early-stage businesses with practical support, expert advice, and community resources to help them grow.

We’re looking for enthusiastic local partners — including coworking spaces, incubators, event organisers, and business support providers — to deliver up to 15 in-person events over the three months.

These events should be free for attendees, and we are offering a €7,500 budget to the selected provider(s) to cover organisation, speaker fees, and venue costs.

Timeline

Proposal Deadline: June 20, 2025
Partner(s) Selected: June 27th, 2025
Program End: September 21, 2025 (Waiting to see if we can get an extension)

What We’re Looking For

We invite you to propose a program of up to 15 free to attend events. These events should be conducted in ideally a mix of English and Portuguese, and made up of any mix of:

1. Innovation / Business Startup Workshops (In-Person Only)

These must be held in person (no online formats).

Possible formats include:

  • Standalone sessions (e.g. business modelling, branding, pitch practice)
  • Skills-based training (e.g. building a website with Squarespace/Shopify, SEO, paid ads)
  • Multi-week bootcamps with structured tasks and accountability

We’re open to different formats and lengths — your proposal should explain what would work best for your audience and venue.

2. Drop-In Centres (In-Person Only)

Drop-in centres should:

Provide short 1:1 advice slots (typically 2-3hours / 15-30 minute slots) with rotating experts
Be scheduled at any time — evenings or weekends are welcome if that suits your venue
Be held in person (coworking spaces, offices, cafés, etc.)

Relevant expert areas include (but are not limited to):

  • Legal (including intellectual property)
  • Branding, marketing, and contentWebsite/ecommerce (Shopify,
  • Amazon, etc.)
  • Accounting, finance, or tax
  • Social media and creator economy
  • Investment readiness
  • Supply chain and operations
  • Any other areas that benefit startup founders

You’ll be expected to:

  • Secure the venue
  • Recruit and coordinate the experts
  • Handle logistics and event scheduling
  • Promote via owned channels
  • Communicate effectively with Accelerate team
  • Take pictures / Quotes from attendees for evidencing activity

Please list some example experts or roles you could include in your proposal.

3. Networking Events (Optional – Max. 3)

If you are struggling to arrange the first two types of event you may include up to three networking events as part of your 15. These should be purposeful, locally relevant, and designed to help founders connect with each other and with the broader support community.

4. Startup Access to Workspace. (Desired, not required)

We would prefer partners who can offer physical workspace of one or more desks, but do not require it. This space would ideally be distributed via:

Day passes (voucher or coupon system)
A limited-term desk offer (e.g. 3-month access for selected founders)
Any other format that provides real, usable workspace for early-stage businesses

If you operate a coworking space, feel free to include it. If not, you may propose to partner with one.

Proposal Requirements

Your proposal (max 5 pages or slides) should include:

  • A short intro to your organisation or team
  • Your proposed mix of events (up to 15 total, clearly identified as workshops, drop-ins, and/or networking)
  • How and when you would deliver them
  • Example experts or collaborators
  • Whether you can provide coworking access (optional)
  • Budget breakdown (High level)
  • Any additional ideas or value you would bring

What We Provide

To support your work, we will offer:

  • 7,500 Euro funding, distributed in 4 payments.
    • 1,500 on successful application
    • 2,000 after first 5 events
    • 2,000 after 10 events
    • 2,000 after completing 15 events
  • A shared online platform for managing event sign-ups and hosting community content
  • Event promotion tools, including:
  • Facebook/Instagram ad spend
  • Press release support
  • Printed posters (if events are scheduled in advance, we can create and distribute them locally in 3-month blocks)
  • Startup.com access for eligible founders
  • Shared branding: all posters and digital materials will include the logos of:
    • Accelerate.pt
    • Your organisation
    • Any other partners in the initiative

Submissions

Please send your proposal (PDF or Google Slides format) to:

jack@accelerate.pt

Subject: Innovation Support Proposal – [Your Organisation Name]