The 5th edition of Euronext’s TechShare, which started in September 2019, runs until May this year. This pan-European program aims at informing tech companies about the opportunities offered by capital markets and how they can prepare for an eventual IPO. This year edition welcomes innovative companies from nine countries and Portugal is represented with seven tech companies receiving insights on the advantages and requirements of listing or placing debt on capital markets.
In this issue of PRÉMIO, in addition to an introductory text by Filipa Franco, Head of Listing at Euronext Lisbon, informing us on the advantages of capital markets, we will get to know the Portuguese technological companies in this TechShare program 2019/2020 and their balance and expectations as to this program.
The 5th edition of the TechShare program has four institutional partners: the law firm Morais Leitão, CaixaBank / BPI banks, CV&A (Cunha Vaz & Associados) and PwC Consultant.
Companies wishing to participate in the recruitment process for the 6th edition of Techshare, which will take place in 2020/21, should contact Euronext Lisbon or visit the website www.euronext.com/en/raise-capital/tech/techshare. The application period runs from April to May.
What do Portuguese technologies intend with TechShare?
Polygon is a Cybersecurity and Customer Engagement company. “We built a platform that allows our customers to provide a multichannel and multimodal solution for the identification and authentication of their digital users, namely through the use of certified biometric validation technologies with proof of life, the only that guarantees the non-transferability of identity”, Alberto Lima, CEO of Polygon, explains. He further added: “We are the strongest ‘players’ in the Portuguese market and one of the most promising in some peripheral markets, in an emerging industry, in high growth, estimated to reach US $ 13 billion in 2024”.
Regarding the TechShare program, Alberto Lima considers it a very good program and makes a very positive assessment, from the huge availability of Euronext to the support and committed preparation of the companies that collaborate in the project.
“With this program we intend to gain credibility and to finance growth in order to become a reference in the sector and to able to implement some of the many s plans and ideas that we have.”
EVA (Electric Visionary Aircrafts) is one of the most ambitious national startups, intending to compete with aviation giants. With a development model that can be compared to that of Tesla, the big difference is that this tech company opens its infrastructure to other drones.
EVA is developing stations for unmanned aircraft, which take off and land vertically. Stations capable of interacting with drones in loading and unloading operations. In addition to these stations, EVA is also developing a long-range drone for freight transport.
“With TechShare, EVA intends to raise funds to finance growth and interna-tionalization.”
WeTek is a Portuguese company operating in the fields of streaming and video distribution. For five years it has worked internationally with cable / satellite operators, as well as content producers, in order to boost their markets and provide tools for competitiveness.
“This industry is characterised by constant change. It’s our role to be aware of these changes and to act as catalysts for others. Total streaming industry revenue is estimated to reach $ 25,894m by the end of 2020, with an annual growth projection of around 4.1% through 2024. In four years there will be a estimated 16.9% of users of this technology, with an average revenue of US $ 22.92 per user ”, says Hugo Condesa, WeTek CEO.
The person in charge of the company considers the balance of participation in TechShare to be very positive, allowing to improve the management of efforts in the launch of an IPO and to obtain valuable knowledge about strategic positioning. The same happens with the management and registration processes necessary to raise capital in the financial markets.
“This program allows us to scale our business to align our growth objectives with the market’s expectations, considering a company with our profile. We intend to create bridges with the countries where we operate and to gain credibility. TechShare is a clear path to success.”
Celfinet has been on the market for 16 years and is a technology-based company operating in the field of mobile applications, helping mobile operators to manage their networks. The company has also developed an associated product to manage the energy of these networks.
With a presence in various parts of the globe, Celfinet considers itself a credible technology partner for the main mobile operators in the world.
“Celfinet’s objective in TechShare’s parti-cipation is to reinforce the strategy of diversification, product consolidation and mergers and acquisitions activity.”
