Braga: The Gateway to Global Connections

Press Release

The Ireland Portugal Business Network (IPBN) and InvestBraga are joining forces to present the very first IPBN event in the city of Braga, entitled “Braga – The Gateway to Global Connections,” on Friday, May 17 at Forum Braga.

Sector specialists and passionate minds will convene to uncover Braga's ecosystem and discuss its position as a player in worldwide markets. The network intends to relate to those who attend the ways in which doing business and investing in the city can have a profoundly positive effect on business and industry.

Aside from business acumen, the city of Braga was recently elected the best European City to live when stacked up against 83 cities across Europe and evidenced by over 70,000 interviews. Clearly doing business isn't the only advantage that the city has to offer. Therefore panelists and speakers will attempt to summarize all the benefits of “the city of the future,” the wider region, and the connections it has built worldwide.

This unique conference offers an invaluable opportunity to access valuable insights, essential contacts, network connections, and face time with key decision makers in the region. In thisthe IPBN hopes to support its members and guest entrepreneurs in Ireland who are considering starting their journey in Portugal's ecosystem.

Among the IPBN's esteemed partners and attendees at the event are Ricardo Rio, Presidente Município de Braga, H.E. Alma Ní Choigligh, Ambassador of Ireland to Portugal, Geoffrey Graham, Chair of the IPBN Board and its Board members, and Gil Carvalho, Director for the Economic Boosting and Foreign Attraction at InvestBraga, all of whom will deliver words of welcome and opening statements.

The first panel will focus on the topic of Doing business in Braga via panelists from multinational Companies that have settled in Braga. These panelists include Anatolii Razgoniaiev, EU Regional Director of Ciellos, and Daniela Mar, Studio Head at PTW. The conversation will be moderated by Luís Rodrigues, Director of StartUp Braga..

Shortly following a break for networking, the next panel will consist of Sandra Cerqueira, Executive Board Member of TUB, Pedro Moreira, Support Office for the Mayor of Braga, entitled “Braga: The City of the Future,” moderated by Nuno Cunha, Operational Director of the Urban Quadrilateral Municipalities Association Barcelos, Braga, Guimarães, and Famalicão.

Lastly, we will take a look at the power of technology transfer and innovation from research centres to companies with Raul Fangueiro, Vice-Dean, School of Engineering of University of Minho / Head of the Fibrenamics Institute, João Vilaça, Pro-President R&I of IPCA and Director of 2Ai Applied Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and Francisco Guimarães, Department of IP Exploitation and Knowledge Transfer at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. The discussion will be moderated by Margarida Rossi, General Directo of the Associação Empresarial do Minho.

We hope you can join us for this exciting event. In order to gain access, please register on the IPBN's event page here.

For questions, sponsorship, or other marketing opportunities, please contact the IPBN's General Manager Arnold Delville at arnold.delville@ireland-portugal.com.