As part of the partnership between the Portuguese Diaspora Council and Jornal de Neg\u00f3cios, Manuela Abreu, Managing Director at OnBoard Advisory and Non-Executive Director of investment funds in Luxembourg and operating companies in Portugal, shares insights into her international career journey and her perspective on Portugal\u2019s economic potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 \u2014 What led you to leave Portugal?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From an early age, I knew that I wanted to work across borders \u2014 with other nationalities, in other languages, in professional environments different from the one I knew. It wasn’t an escape from Portugal, it was an attraction around the world. There was a genuine curiosity about other ways of working, thinking and solving problems in me, and I realized that this curiosity could only be satisfied by leaving Portugal. Luxembourg gave me exactly that: a truly international, demanding and stimulating environment, where I grew both as a professional and as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2 \u2014 What advantages or disadvantages did the fact that you are Portuguese bring you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Always advantages. Being Portuguese taught me the value of work and resilience \u2014 we grew up used to doing more with less. This gave me a natural ability to adapt to different cultures and ways of working, which in the international context is a huge asset. And perhaps most importantly, it developed in me a genuine sensitivity to difference\u2014to realize that there is always more than one valid way of doing things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3 \u2014 What obstacles did you have to overcome and how did you do it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n With work, dedication and a lot of resilience \u2014 one day at a time. It is not easy to break the glass ceiling<\/em>, nor to deconstruct stereotypes, especially when you are a woman, Portuguese, in an industry dominated by other profiles. But I learned that the best answer to those who doubt is consistency: show up every day, deliver results and not ask permission to occupy the space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4 \u2014 What do you admire most about the country where you are?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Luxembourg is a country that lives European values not as rhetoric but as everyday practice. It’s a genuinely multicultural society \u2014 about half of the population is foreign \u2014 where diversity isn’t a slogan, it’s simply the everyday reality. This creates an environment of openness and tolerance where extremist views have very little room to grow. And then there is a maturity in the way the country thinks about the future: with a long-term, stable and consistent vision, which inspires confidence \u2014 both in those who live there and in those who invest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5 \u2014 What do you admire most about the company or organization where you are?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As a non-executive director, my ‘clients’ are large companies in the financial sector \u2014 investment fund managers and operating companies with a truly international expression. It’s a demanding universe, and that’s precisely what inspires me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What I admire most about those who work in this industry\u2014my clients and my fellow board members\u2014is the combination of three things that rarely go together on the same level: absolute professionalism, in-depth knowledge of the industry, and an impeccable work ethic. To all this is added something that, coming from such different contexts, touches me in a special way: a genuine respect for other cultures and ways of thinking. In an increasingly fragmented world, this respect is not a detail, it is a competitive advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6 \u2014 What recommendations would you give to Portugal and its entrepreneurs and managers?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n My main recommendation is: be brave. Take more risks, innovate consistently and, above all, change the relationship you have with failure \u2014 failure is not the opposite of success, it is part of the path. The fastest growing economies are those that have normalized error as learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also believe more in yourself and in your companies. Portugal has talent, it has the capacity to work and it has an international projection that we often underestimate. The world knows us better than we know ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And finally: let your dreams be bigger than the Portuguese borders. The Portuguese market is a starting point, not a limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7 \u2014 In which sectors of the country where you live could Portuguese companies find customers?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Luxembourg is the second investment fund platform in the world, only behind the United States, and this creates real opportunities for Portuguese companies. In the financial area, there is a very receptive and demanding market for consulting, auditing and compliance<\/em> services \u2014 and especially for Fintech companies<\/em>, in the areas of digital payments, blockchain<\/em> and investment platforms. It is an ecosystem that values innovation and rigor simultaneously, and Portuguese companies have the capacity to respond to this profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it’s not just in finance. The Luxembourg-Portugal Business Forum has identified Sustainable Construction as one of the three major areas of bilateral opportunity \u2014 and this encompasses architecture, engineering, construction and materials. Luxembourg has very serious ambitions in terms of sustainability and is willing to pay for quality. It is a window of opportunity that Portuguese companies in the sector should not ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 8 \u2014 In which sectors of Portugal could companies in the country where you live want to invest?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Portugal offers Luxembourg companies a truly fertile ground \u2014 and in very diverse sectors. In technology, there are real opportunities in software and IT services, in a market with qualified talent and competitive costs. And in the areas of health and sustainability \u2014 health technologies, renewable energy and sustainable construction \u2014 the country is growing with consistency and ambition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tourism and real estate continue to be natural destinations for foreign investment, with demand showing no signs of slowing down. But perhaps the most differentiating argument is another: Portugal has a booming start-up ecosystem and a unique strategic position as a gateway to Portuguese-speaking markets \u2014 a universe of more than 250 million people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is this set of factors that, in my view, makes Portugal one of the most attractive bets in Europe for foreign investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 9 \u2014 What is the competitive advantage of the country in which you live that could be replicated in Portugal?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Luxembourg’s main competitive advantage that Portugal could \u2014 and should \u2014 replicate is predictability. Luxembourg has built an international reputation over decades based on clear, consistent and long-lasting rules, a highly professionalised public administration and an ongoing dialogue between the regulator, the government and the private sector. The result is an environment where investors know what to expect\u2014and that, for long-term investing, is as true as any tax incentive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Portugal has the ingredients. What is sometimes lacking is the consistency of public institutions. A more pragmatic, more partnering and more responsive regulatory environment \u2014 like what Luxembourg has built in the financial sector, pioneering the implementation of European regulations always in the most investment-friendly way \u2014 would be transformative for our economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there is an advantage that Portugal has and Luxembourg will never have: geography and history. Portugal occupies a unique position \u2014 based on the European continent, bathed by the Atlantic, facing the Americas (South and North) to the west and Africa to the south. It’s not just a matter of location on the map. It is a historical, cultural and linguistic relationship with these continents that took centuries to build and that no other European country can replicate. This is perhaps the most genuine and inimitable competitive advantage that Portugal has \u2013 and which is still far from being fully exploited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 10 \u2014 Are you thinking of returning to Portugal? Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “Every day” is the answer I give whenever I am asked this question. Portugal is my “heart”, Luxembourg is my “head”. And for now, I need both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know that my path in Luxembourg is far from over. But I feel, more and more, a desire to get closer to Portugal \u2014 not only emotionally, but professionally. I want to work more with Portuguese companies and projects, contribute with what I have learned and with the network I have built, because I genuinely believe that I have something to give to my country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The return is not a matter of ‘if’ \u2014 it is a matter of ‘when’.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As part of the partnership between the Portuguese Diaspora Council and Jornal de Neg\u00f3cios, Manuela Abreu, Managing Director at OnBoard Advisory and Non-Executive Director of investment funds in Luxembourg and operating companies in Portugal, shares insights into her international career journey and her perspective on Portugal\u2019s economic potential. 1 \u2014 What led you to leave…","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":27321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n