From the 6th to the 8th of March, Montalvo International School, in Loulé, hosts Techstars Startup Weekend Women, an initiative integrated into a global Techstars action marking International Women’s Day. The event proposes 54 intensive hours dedicated to entrepreneurship, innovation and business development.
Loulé is one of 38 cities selected around the world to host this special edition, joining a movement that spans several continents. Across different time zones and cultural contexts, participating teams share the common goal of creating more opportunities for women to undertake, learn and launch companies.
Create startups in 54 hours
Techstars Startup Weekend Women Loulé presents itself as a practical and dynamic event, open to anyone interested in entrepreneurship. Over the course of a weekend, participants are challenged to work as startup founders, developing an idea into a validated concept, with the support of experienced mentors.
The initiative starts on Friday afternoon with networking sessions, presentation of ideas and team building. Between Friday night and Sunday, the groups work on identifying and validating problems, testing solutions, building prototypes and defining business models. The closing takes place on Sunday, with the presentation of the projects to a specialized jury.
Although only one team is selected as the local winner, the organization highlights that all participants acquire new skills, expand their network of contacts and reinforce the confidence to develop their projects.
Awards and international competition
The winning team will have access to a suite of prizes designed to support the initial phases of the project, including access as a finalist to the Techstars Global Online Pitch Competition, a year of membership in the 351 Portuguese Startup Association, a year of membership in Algarve Evolution, a year of virtual incubation by Canopy Tribe, and monthly virtual mentoring sessions with Flourish Mode throughout 2026.
Benefits are also planned such as a week of coworking at TEC Campus (UAlg + Algarve Evolution), a guided tour of the space with a presentation by Algarve STP and Algarve Evolution, media visibility through different platforms and tickets for the SIM Conference, in Porto, as well as a surprise with the support of Founders Institute Portugal.
The edition dedicated to International Women’s Day is inclusive, open to women, men and non-binary people, encouraging female leadership and the development of solutions designed by women, with the purpose of reducing barriers to entrepreneurship and promoting diversity in the startup ecosystem.
The winning team from Loulé will be invited to participate in a global online pitching competition, competing against the remaining 37 participating cities.
The event is organized by Flourish Mode, Local.Foundation, Algarve Evolution and 351 Portuguese Startup Association, with a team of volunteers from the LOFT region (Loulé, Olhão, Faro and Tavira). Registration is open at .
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