Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP) has strengthened its position on the national map of academic entrepreneurship, securing 2nd place in the Portugal’s Entrepreneurial Universities Ranking 2025, released by Startup Portugal at the latest edition of the Web Summit. The result highlights the institution’s steady rise as an active force in company creation and in the broader innovation ecosystem.
The numbers show particularly sharp growth. Alumni from UCP have already founded 807 startups, marking an accelerated expansion curve. Between 2022 and 2025, the annual number of startups created by its former students more than tripled: 231 in 2022, 263 in 2023, 409 in 2024, and 807 in 2025.
While the ULisboa (UL) tops the list with 1,292 startups founded by former students, a proportional reading of the data tells a different story. With roughly 50,000 students at UL and around 13,000 at UCP, UCP leads when measuring the ability to generate entrepreneurs per student, a metric that reflects the maturity of its innovation ecosystem.
The analysis, based on the Startup Portugal Ecosystem Mapping Platform in partnership with Dealroom, shows that startups founded by UCP alumni now hold a combined enterprise value of €13 billion. Among these, 188 have secured funding, raising a total of €2.3 billion on the market.
Much of this momentum is driven by the CATÓLICA-LISBON Entrepreneurship Center (CLEC), created in 2018 and now one of the school’s strategic pillars. CLEC brings together applied research, academic training, and direct engagement with the entrepreneurial community, serving as a platform that helps transform entrepreneurial ambition into real ventures.
Its initiatives include dedicated entrepreneurship courses, pre-acceleration programs, and community-oriented activities designed to help students build essential skills and advance ideas that frequently evolve into competitive startups.
One of its flagship initiatives is Forward!, a pre-acceleration program that challenges students and aspiring founders to turn innovative concepts into market-ready prototypes. In its most recent edition, held between February and May 2025, participants completed five core sessions focused on prototype development, practical pitch exercises, and specialized mentoring. The program brought together about 15 mentors—ranging from market experts to experienced entrepreneurs—who worked closely with each team. The winning teams received additional CLEC mentoring hours and secured direct access to acceleration programs offered by Forward!’s partners.