Lisbon, Oct. 27, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese Venture Capital Association (APCRI) will propose to the Government that the term “venture capital” be changed to “investment capital” in order to improve the sector’s attractiveness, according to a statement released on Monday.
"The good results obtained over the years by Portuguese companies that have received investments from private equity and venture capital management companies will lead APCRI - Portuguese Venture Capital Association to propose to the Government a legal change to the name of the sector," it explained.
For the association, instead of the current “capital de risco” (venture capital), which is the same designation used in Spain, Portugal should adopt a more internationally used translation for the English terms, namely “investment capital”.
The entity indicated that, at its annual conference on Wednesday, it will present the study “Impact of Venture Capital in Portugal” - Employment, Growth and Internationalisation”, carried out by Lisbon's ISCTE University, “to support the proposal to change the name”, highlighting that the study underlines “the strategic role” of the sector “as a catalyst for growth and as an instrument for strengthening the competitiveness of the Portuguese economy, especially in adverse macroeconomic contexts”.
APCRI President Stephan de Moraes said, quoted in the same note, that “there is a gap between the designation ‘venture/risk’ and the intervention that management companies are actually having in companies”.
“The perception of ‘venture/risk’ drives investors away, when in reality this industry is growing companies at the intense level that the ISCTE study demonstrates,” said Stephan de Moraes.
"As management companies accurately assess the underlying trends in society and the economy, the profile of their investments generally ends up having more controlled risks than those of the business sector as a whole: that is why it makes sense to change the name of the sector," he explained.
According to the association, “the companies in which private equity and venture capital management companies have invested in Portugal generate, on average, a turnover 12.3 times higher than the national average per company,” in addition to employing 15.1 times more people.
According to the study carried out for the second time by ISCTE University for APCRI, “49% of the turnover of the companies invested in comes from exports, one of the reasons why they have annual results that are much higher than the average for national companies”.
ISCTE’s projections point to “an annual turnover of €21.7 billion for venture capital-financed companies, corresponding to 177,000 jobs,” the note reads.
In addition, the fiscal impact of the sector “is also very significant”, with the companies analysed paying an average of €2.2 million in corporate income tax per company in 2023, “contributing significantly to public finances”, according to the study.
According to Stephan de Moraes, this sector deserves better conditions for investment. “The results obtained by ISCTE are the best incentive for the Government to quickly implement two measures from the programme it presented to the parliament in June: the creation of a fund of funds managed by Banco Português de Fomento (the state owned business investment bank) ; and incentives for institutional investors, such as pension funds or insurance companies, to participate in private equity and venture capital funds that invest in domestic companies”.
The ability of management companies to "mobilise significant resources and foster companies with above-average performance compared to the national average highlights the transformative potential of this financing model on the Portuguese business fabric," according to the ISCTE study, cited by the association.
According to the president of APCRI, “the figures calculated by ISCTE reflect the ability of investee companies to recover from low initial levels of profitability, which is particularly evident in the venture capital segment.”
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