Opinion: Portugal and innovation

Portugal, leader for new technologies and innovation

The last couple of times I was in Portugal, I discovered a new innovation... and quite a practical and most welcome one! Driving into a car parking in the centre of Lisbon, I found the “Via verde” label… and I decided to try it. When driving in, I just pushed a button, the gate opened and I drove in. No ticket, nothing. At the end, I just drove through the “via verde “way out, just stopped two seconds, the gate opened and the amount to be paid was displayed. No tickets, no coins, nothing. Useless to say that from then on I always use the system, whenever it’s available, and it is now in most parkings I’ve seen.

Of course the system isn’t new… we’ve been using it for more than 10 years, maybe 15 already, in the highway tolls in Portugal. But you just have to install this little box in the front window of the car and when driving through the “via verde” tollgates, the payment will be automatically debited from your bank account. And this has been a unique integrated system covering all the toll highways in Portugal, some 2000 kms. That means that if you go in the motorway in Faro and only go out in Braga (some 750 kms), there is only one payment made at the end. And that was an innovative system at the time, when it started some 10/15 years ago. I do not know whether the parking system is being used elsewhere, but so far I have only seen it in Portugal. And I’m sure it could take ages before being used in Belgium…

But this is just a more recent example of technological and process innovation in Portugal. I remember I started using bank debit cards from cash dispensers (ATMs) more than twenty years ago in Portugal. At the time we didn’t have such a high density of cash dispensers as we have nowadays (and most are universal ones and can be used by all clients, national and international card owners!) but the density was then already higher than for instance in Brussels nowadays. And many of you know what I am talking about… In 1987 I went to study in Germany and they didn’t even know what an ATM was… By that time we already had phone cards to use in phone booths in Portugal, something unknown in Germany. Of course, using a credit card there was also nearly impossible in Germany at the time, unlike Portugal, but that wasn’t even an innovative thing at the time anymore.

Slowly they started to get some cash dispensers in Germany and other countries, usually faster than in Germany, I must say. Already by then I could get banknotes from Portuguese cash dispensers, with my German or Luxembourg bank card (Euro cheque at the time) – from every ATM. Which was difficult or impossible in Germany: in a city like Karlsruhe, of some 300,000 inhabitants, there was only 1 (yes, 1!!!) cash dispenser where it was possible to get cash with a foreigner EC card. Slowly things improved, luckily, but also in Portugal – where they were innovative in the creation of services that one could do from ATM – like buying theatre tickets, charge your cell phone, pay bills, etc…

But Portugal was also quite innovative as regards cell phones. The use of cell phones spread quite fast in Portugal and it was there that the pre-paid card system was invented and first used. Of course, we’d then re-charge the cards from ATMs, something which only was possible in other countries much later. Also 3G technology started there quite early, in 2004 already.

But the small country was also innovative for the creation of the “electronic-purse” and use of electronic debit payments. It’s been years that we have been paying parkings, subway tickets, etc, with electronic purse cards and/or the usual bank debit cards – EC, Maestro, bancontact, etc – the famous Multibanco system in Portugal.

These are some of the examples that show that Portugal has been quite ahead and innovative as regards certain new information and communication technologies, in particular for electronic paying systems, banking and cell phones.

I guess these are just some examples that testify to the innovative capacity of the country, which has in many respects developed faster than other countries. And not only as regards the services mentioned, also other services as the post, have developed quite well. This proves that there is a potential in Portugal to be competitive in new technological sectors and to be innovative. With the right approach to education and training, with the right solutions for financing new ideas and investments, Portugal could well become competitive in new technologies, increase e-commerce and e-business, intensifying the use of higher value-added technologies and internet products. That would also contribute to increase the country’s productivity.

At the same time Portugal boosts a very good level of infrastructure: good roads, some good railways (some to be improved), air connections (as long as a new efficient and modern airport will be available) and availability of large-band internet and telecommunications. This is combined with a great climate, a good location and at least two cities, which offer all services that a modern city can and should offer.

In the coming 10 years Portugal will be able to count with support from the European structural Funds. These funds will provide extensive funding for training that will allow fulfilling the country’s needs. Apart from contributing to finalise some hard infrastructure, as for instance some TEN(*) missing links, financial support will also be provided to intensify applied RTD activities, mostly for SMEs, for technology transfer, to support innovation in SMEs at process and product level. Also marketing and distribution capacities will have to be improved as well as the management skills and internationalisation capacity of SMEs. Portugal has good potential and capacity. Together with the right financing; training and education, the country will have a unique chance to improve productivity and make that economic structural change happen. Foreign investment will follow, as will job creation. All this seems easy and yet it is not. It depends, ultimately, in the will and the ambition from the Portuguese people. Will to reduce corruption, create a positive economic climate and make the right investment decisions and choices. Will to win, to overcome the country’s handicaps and win the competitive struggle, within Europe and in a global level. All the Portuguese have to do is believe. And work.

(*) Trans-European networks, in this case transport networks