May 8, 2018

Jorge Portugal, interview to Dinheiro Vivo

Jorge Portugal: “Many companies associate innovation to a high risk”. The General Manager of COTEC is a member of the jury of Prémio Inovação NOS.

Jorge Portugal, general manager of COTEC and member of the Portuguese Diaspora Council, is member of the jury of NOS Innovation Prize.

The majority of the Portuguese companies has already awaken for the importance of innovation?

The majority is convinced that innovation is the only path. The challenge that persists for many of them is to create a real capacity in the innovation process management that includes the alignment between market and innovation strategy, talent, experimentational culture and risk management, I&D project management, etc.

What can be made to stimulate entrepreneurial innovation?

More than speeches, companies and entrepreneurs change by mimicry power. It is very important to identify and raise awareness of such relevant innovation cases.

In what kind of companies the message is more difficult to send?

Many small companies don’t have the basic resources, neither have any access strategy to the innovation success.

Why don’t the Portuguese companies innovate more?

Three reasons can justify this critical insufficiency: first, the company don’t have time to reflect the future of the business, what will be the next markets, etc.; second, it is believed that the innovation projects that can have a significant economic impact in the company growth have a high-level risk and a very distant return in time; at last, it lacks a clarified leadership and a roadmap that allows the business changing of what it is in the present and of what it will be in the future.

 By Dinheiro Vivo, March 2018