A year after setting up in Porto, Swiss company Markant is strengthening its presence in Portugal by acquiring the startup Xelerate Markant Services International Portugal. The company, which currently has 30 employees, plans to create about ten more jobs soon.
Markant had originally established itself in Porto a year earlier together with xelerate.tech, forming the joint venture "Xelerate Markant Services International Portugal." Now Markant is becoming independent, focusing on developing B2B digital platforms in the cloud.
Xelerate.tech, a Luso-German business accelerator based in Porto since 2021, has been successful in attracting foreign companies and helping them set up tech hubs in the city. Its CEO, Martin Zierheim, told ECO/Local Online that the accelerator's main purpose is to make it easier for companies looking to expand their business, and that Markant wants to keep investing in the Portuguese IT talent pool to speed up development of innovative products — meaning the two companies will remain connected as the Porto site grows.
Mark Michaelis, general director of Markant Services International, said the collaboration with xelerate.tech gave the company access to top-tier tech capabilities, and that its Porto tech hub is already heavily involved in developing innovative products to grow the potential of its B2B platform.
Over the next four years, xelerate.tech plans to invest around €40 million in hiring software development teams to work with the foreign tech companies it helps establish in the region. The accelerator is also planning to move to new offices to accommodate its growth. This year alone, xelerate.tech hired more than 40 people for its engineering teams and made a significant (undisclosed) investment in new tech sectors.
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