The Matosinhos City Council, in partnership with UPTEC – Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto, is promoting the fifth edition of BluAct, a programme to support the growth of the blue economy that seeks start-ups with business ideas that have an impact on the sustainability of the maritime sector and the canning industry.

The overall winner of BluAct will receive €5,000, a prize offered by INDAQUA Matosinhos. In addition, the top three winners will have access to free incubation at UPTEC Mar for four months, as well as a premium subscription to UPTEC’s online programme School of Startups: Foundations.

One of the three best projects will also be awarded free access to UPTEC’s startup acceleration programme, the School of Startups, while the project with the greatest impact on the canning industry will receive €2,500 from Conservas Portugal Norte. Finally, one or more projects will be chosen to receive support for a pilot scheme in Cadiz, with the possibility of temporary incubation, depending on how the business idea fits into the Interreg Atlantic SaferSEA project, which has UPTEC as one of its partners.

All selected startups will benefit from an intensive mentoring programme to support the development of their business model and prepare for the presentation of their business projects at the final event. The programme will support ideas and/or business projects related to fishing, processing, conservation and marketing of fish; aquaculture, bio-resources and blue biotechnology; ports, transport and logistics; shipbuilding and marine energy; sailing and nautical tourism, provided they have an impact on the blue economy.

This edition’s workshops will take place on 17 and 18 November at UPTEC Mar. The final event to present the projects will take place on 25 November at Matosinhos Town Hall.

Applications for BluAct are open until 11 November and can be made via the Matosinhos City Council website, where more information about the initiative is available. The programme is promoted by the Matosinhos City Council in partnership with UPTEC, INDAQUA and Conservas Portugal Norte.

07 October 2025