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Web Summit helping Lisbon to ‘reboot’ as tech start-up hub, says founder

LISBON (Reuters) – Web Summit, Europe’s biggest technology conference, is helping to stoke a “reboot” of Portugal’s capital city as a start-up hub as being the country continues its emergence coming from a crippling debt crisis, the event’s founder said.

The Lisbon summit has squeeze city around the world technology map, with assorted visiting businesses settling here after being lured by modern infrastructure, the area tech cadre and warm climate. Local authorities estimate which the week-long event generates about 300 million euros ($342 million) in hotel and also other revenue to the city.

Founder Paddy Cosgrave signed a binding agreement in 2010 to keep case in Portugal for the next few years, marking a massive boost for Lisbon’s ambitions as a start-up hub.

The 34-year-old Irish entrepreneur started the case in Dublin eight years ago just 400 individuals in attendance and has massively expanded the conference to this year’s 70,000 paying participants and guest speakers, such as the Un Secretary-General.

“This is usually a city dealing with a rebirth, it’s a start-up city, it’s being rebooted,” Cosgrave told Reuters a couple of hours prior to when the annual summit opened its doors on Monday evening.

Cosgrave said Web Summit can provide 100 jobs in Lisbon next 24 months, causing the growing range of tech companies opening offices in your neighborhood, including Google plus the technology divisions of Mercedes and BMW.

He said many individuals had cast doubt within the wisdom of moving Web Summit to Lisbon from Dublin in 2016, eschewing major cities for instance Paris, Berlin and London.

“Portugal went through the a dark decade to become hammered, like Ireland did,” said Cosgrave, making reference to the eurozone debt crisis that started around 2010, requiring bailouts for the nations. “But we made the decision i always think has developed into the ideal decision.”

While some critics say Portugal’s tech ambitions won’t last or ultimately prove as successful as some larger technology centers, Cosgrave said the recent emergence of Portuguese businesses worth above $1 billion will make sure sustainable growth for Portugal’s digital economy considering that the founders of people so-called “unicorns” become backers for one more generation of start-ups.

(Editing by Andrei Khalip and David Goodman)

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