There are 11 more innovative business ideas with a Porto passport

The European Innovation Academy closed its third edition in Porto on 2 August with the Grand Pitch event. The 11 most innovative business ideas were presented, resulting from an analysis of a total of 200 solutions.

The finalist teams were chosen by a group of mentors, investors and business angels who came to Porto with the aim of discovering technological solutions that could make a difference in the world in the coming years.

The ideas that stood out focus mainly on environmental sustainability, online education, and technology for the areas of health, safety, and women's empowerment.

The Voyella and Azalea apps received attention for their focus on women's empowerment, ensuring the safety of women who travel or live alone.

There were also five projects involving Portuguese students that gained significant visibility during the European Innovation Academy (EIA). Among them is Critic AI, a language analysis software that provides feedback and suggestions on written content to help users improve their writing skills and style.

Ideas to change the world

Also highlighted were Bubbl3s, a device for air purification made from sustainable materials; Tutorberry, an online tutoring platform dedicated to helping parents find the perfect tutor for their children; FAire, software that assists in monitoring and managing fires; and Sayfe, an app designed to support individuals with food allergies in having safe dining experiences at restaurants.

Rubbish bins that provide verbal guidance and assist in proper waste disposal to encourage recycling (Virture) and a personal device designed to cool construction workers in hot climates (Brisa) were among the other solutions distinguished by the investors. The NiteLite and DriveBAC projects also caught the jury's attention in this edition of the EIA.

The jury was made up of a number of renowned investors: Fred Krieger, founder and CEO of Scoro (one of Estonia's unicorns); Maher Hakim, partner at 212.VC and Chief Advisor for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation Council; Anna de Stefano, business angel at Italian Angels for Growth; Zahra Tashakorinia, from Amazon Lab126; André Flórido, vice-president of Antler; Miguel Botto, director of Portugal Ventures, and Ricardo Marvão, co-founder of Beta-i.

The major news of this edition was the launch of the CityXperiment programme, a collaborative platform designed by the Municipality and coordinated by Porto Digital.

After an application phase that saw over 60 submissions, 25 young people were selected to participate in the programme and to create and perfect solutions in a real, urban context over the months of October and November 2024.

The EIA is the largest academy dedicated to innovation which, this year, brought together more than 650 people, including students and lecturers from various universities around the world, as well as experts, mentors and investors from renowned international companies.