It was from Porto, more specifically the Porto Design Factory, that were launched today, January 3, with the presence of the Secretary of State for Industry, João Vasconcelos, two pioneering and unique programs at national level.
Porto Design Accelerator is a program that combines design with Portuguese manufacturing, supporting start-ups focused on the development of consumer goods produced in industrial sectors, from fashion to metal-mechanics, from urban products to furniture or from the automotive area to cork and Ceramics, among others. This accelerator will be developed by Porto Design Factory, in partnership with TICE.pt - Information Technology, Communication and Electronic Technologies and with the Porto City Council.
Beta Sound System is the first Portuguese program to accelerate new business ideas for the music industry, designed to support the work of the brightest artists, researchers and entrepreneurs and the most promising start-ups in the music industry. This accelerator was designed and will be managed by Porto Design Factory and Casa da Música, with the close partnership of Antena 3. The applications run from January 3 to February 28. Five projects will be selected for each of the programs, which begin to develop their projects on April the 1st.
"In the audience we had IKEA, Sonae, a lot of industry, which proves that the relationship between Porto Design Factory and Polytechnic of Porto with industry is long and that industry recognizes this relationship as very useful. Two accelerators will allow us to create a system, a method, so that new business ideas intersect with the industry, that are a source of innovation in sectors in music and design" stated the Secretary of State for Industry. "The frontier between industry and creativity is very tenuous and in the future it will be even more tenuous. It has been clear in many sectors (confectionery, clothing, footwear, ceramics, furniture), but it will happen in all sectors , Metalworking, etc.) What Port Design Factory is doing is anticipating this, preparing with the industry to face these times and to view design as a source of innovation as or more important than science or technology", concluded João Vasconcelos.
