In 2020, the world of business has changed completely. The pandemic brought drastic changes in the way business owners and entrepreneurs run their organizations. Sectors such as Tourism, Industry, Agriculture, were strongly affected by the pandemic and many entrepreneurs were faced with the inevitability of the end of their business.

European funds have been key tools and a clear response in supporting companies and have contributed to many organisations being able to adapt to new realities and market demands. From the digital transition to internationalisation and the strengthening of companies’ skills, European funds have been crucial for companies in several sectors of the economy to continue to be able to recover and restart their businesses.

The climate crisis and the issues related to Energy Efficiency are shaping the markets and the businesses themselves. Decarbonisation and carbon footprint reduction has become a priority for companies and many will be left out of the markets if they fail to catch up, which substantially increases the risk for some businesses.

The Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) has been one of the fundamental supports for the recovery, regeneration and upgrading of the Portuguese business sector, along with other EU Funds support such as Portugal 2020, a very important mechanism in the support of Industry and Tourism, the Rural Development Programme (PDR) for the revitalisation and updating of the agricultural sector, and other funds for the establishment of companies and business projects, stimulating the opening of new jobs, qualification and sustainable employment. These initiatives have proven to be real boosters of companies’ competitiveness in national and international markets, and have provided companies with essential tools to overcome the challenges of the future.

It is in this context that Start PME acts as a key partner in the development and submission of winning applications for these funds. Start PME knows how important it is to submit a quality application to access these funds and how fundamental these initiatives are for the recovery, revitalization and modernization of Portuguese companies and the entire Portuguese business sector in a sustained manner.

The emergence of a huge amount of support and financing mechanisms for companies, creates a unique opportunity in the market for the development of Start PME as a reference platform in supporting the launch of business projects, but also in the recovery of other companies that were unable to expand their business and can do so now.

At a time when with the post-pandemic many businesses start to rethink and reorganize their structures, Start PME is the ideal partner to put these companies back on the market, either by preparing applications for these financial supports or through project consulting.

Although raising funds and preparing applications is one of the main core business lines of Start PME, the company has done more for the Portuguese business sector. Start PME has stood out in providing other support services for the launch of new business projects, such as banking brokerage, attracting investment, starting up a company, feasibility studies, going international, accountancy and management support, marketing and legal support.