TL;DR Portugal is a euro-area country of about 10.8 million people with tourism, wine and a long Atlantic coast at the centre of its economy. A quarter of residents are over 65. The ideas that fit here serve hotels, vineyards and solar projects, work with the sea, or sell to remote workers and older people.

The market in numbers

  • Population: about 10.8 million in 2025[1].
  • GDP per capita: about US$32,100 in 2025[2].
  • Internet use: about 88% of people were online in 2024[3].
  • Tourism: about 17.3 million international arrivals in 2019, with tourism receipts at about 23% of exports that year[4][5].
  • Ageing: people aged 65 and over were about 25% of the population in 2025[6].
  • Currency: the euro, adopted in 1999[7].
  • Starting a company: the Empresa na Hora service sets up a company at one counter in a single visit, with a standard fee of €360[8].

What founders here actually have to work with

Portugal is small, and that's fine if you go in knowing it. At under 11 million people[1] the home market is a good place to prove a product, but most of the bigger wins come from selling into Spain and the rest of the EU, which you're entitled to do as an EU business[9].

Tourism is the anchor. Before the pandemic it earned about 23% of exports[5], so hotels, guesthouses and the firms that serve them are the easiest buyers to find.

Then there's the coast and the sun. A long Atlantic coastline makes the sea part of daily business, from fishing to ports, and strong sunshine makes solar a natural fit, so energy and ocean ideas get a fair hearing [Requires validation].

The population is also old, with about one resident in four over 65[6]. Lisbon and Porto have drawn many foreign remote workers in recent years [Requires validation], which gives you a second, younger audience in the same cities.

Ideas that fit Portugal

Each idea below was researched for India. Rupee figures and Indian licences don't carry over, so treat every page as a brief to rebuild in euros and under Portuguese rules.

Hotels and visitors

  • Zonecraft: Hotels run door locks, room TVs and cameras on networks that somebody must keep secure. A managed service from Lisbon could cover chains across the country.
  • Hotelgreens: Rooftop greenhouses that grow for the hotel kitchen downstairs fit city hotels that sell on fresh, local food. Start with one rooftop and one chef.
  • Eraframe: Short history films made for tourism boards and museums suit a country that sells its past to visitors. Municipal tourism offices are the likely buyers.

The Atlantic

  • Wakeline: Satellite checks that flag fishing boats missing from tracking suit a country with a big sea area to watch. Your buyer is a public agency, so expect slow sales.
  • Wavejetty: Wave and solar power mounted on breakwaters fits Atlantic harbours. Honestly, this one needs serious engineering money, so treat it as a later-stage play.
  • Aquabed: Plant beds on small fish farms turn waste nitrate into greens. Test it with one inland fish farm before you scale.

Wine and farms

  • Trellismap: Weekly drone maps of vine canopies tell growers which rows to check first. Wine estates and co-ops that sell abroad will care most.
  • Voltrow: Contract electric weeding along vineyard rows suits estates trying to use less herbicide [Requires validation]. Bill per hectare, not per acre.
  • Dripservice: Yearly contracts that keep drip lines flowing evenly fit dry southern farms. Drought years make the pitch for you.

Solar

  • Brightlot: Shared solar plots credited on each flat owner's bill suit apartment dwellers with no roof. Check Portugal's rules for energy communities first [Requires validation].
  • Bandkeeper: Forecasts that keep small solar plants within their grid limits are a sale to plant owners. Rebuild it around Portuguese grid rules.
  • Hailward: Site-level storm and hail checks for solar parks before a deal suit investors buying projects. Your customer is the buyer's due diligence team.

Remote workers

  • Commonhour: Hosted office days for remote staff of different firms fit smaller cities where people live but their employers don't.
  • Perchkit: Renting home-office chairs and desks, collected when people leave, suits remote workers here for a year or two.
  • Paidtrace: Checked references and proof of payment help freelancers win foreign clients. Strict checks are the whole product.

Older residents

  • Elderlodge: Pairing seniors who have spare rooms with vetted students fits university cities where rent is a constant worry [Requires validation].
  • Combkind: Haircuts and nail care at home for seniors and bedbound patients need little capital. It's a simple business, which I mean as praise.

Rules to check before you start

Companies can be set up through Empresa na Hora, run by the Institute of Registries and Notary (IRN), at any of its counters with all partners present[8]. After that, there are deadlines to deposit capital and to file with the tax office[8]. Tax is handled by the Tax and Customs Authority through the Portal das Finanças[10]. The central bank is Banco de Portugal, but I couldn't load its site to confirm its remit, so check it before you build anything around payments or lending [Requires validation]. Short-let, food and drone ideas each carry their own permits [Requires validation].

This is a starting list, not legal advice. Check with a local lawyer or the agency itself.

Questions founders ask

Services sold to hotels and to remote workers are the cheapest start. Combkind, Perchkit and Zonecraft above need a van, a laptop or good contacts more than they need capital.

Do foreigners need a local partner to start a company in Portugal?

I couldn't confirm a local partner rule. EU citizens can set up a business in any EU country[9], and Empresa na Hora requires all partners to be present[8], so check with the IRN or a Portuguese lawyer about documents if you live abroad.

Is Portugal big enough, or should I plan for Spain too?

Use Portugal to prove the product and Spain as your next market. Same currency, same EU rules, and a much bigger buyer pool next door.

Talk to Yash

Turning a Portuguese pilot into something Spain and the rest of Europe will pay for is where I can help most, and I'm happy to test your plan with you. If you need a hand, you know where to find me.

Talk to Yash →

Sources

  1. World Bank, "Population, total: Portugal", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/PRT/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?format=json&mrv=1
  2. World Bank, "GDP per capita (current US$): Portugal", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/PRT/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?format=json&mrv=1
  3. World Bank (ITU data), "Individuals using the Internet (% of population): Portugal", 2024. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/PRT/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?format=json&mrv=1
  4. World Bank (UN Tourism data), "International tourism, number of arrivals: Portugal", 2019. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/PRT/indicator/ST.INT.ARVL?format=json&date=2019
  5. World Bank, "International tourism, receipts (% of total exports): Portugal", 2019. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/PRT/indicator/ST.INT.RCPT.XP.ZS?format=json&date=2019
  6. World Bank, "Population ages 65 and above (% of total population): Portugal", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/PRT/indicator/SP.POP.65UP.TO.ZS?format=json&mrv=1
  7. European Central Bank, "What is the euro area?", 2026. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/intro/html/index.en.html
  8. Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado, "Empresa na Hora", 2026. https://registo.justica.gov.pt/Empresas/Empresa-na-Hora
  9. European Union, Your Europe, "Starting a business", 2026. https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/running-business/start-ups/starting-business/index_en.htm
  10. Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, Portal das Finanças, 2026. https://www.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/

For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.