Tri-Collab: A Machine Learning Project to Leverage Innovation Ecosystems in Portugal
Abstract
1. Introduction
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- Investors (private, incubators, etc.), who want to find projects to support and/or invest in them;
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- Entrepreneurs with ideas/projects, who need investors and/or other agents with the desired skills;
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- “Talents”, which can be, for example, students or researchers, who would like to integrate projects that match their experience and skills.
1.1. The Portuguese Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
1.2. The Summary Innovation Index (SII)
1.3. Identification of Problems in the Ecosystem
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- Access to funding opportunities and investors;
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- Lack of a network of contacts;
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- Failure to gather technical and management skills that are crucial.
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- Projects do not arrive in sufficient quantity and quality;
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- Financial and digital illiteracy;
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- The calls for projects receive applications below expectations.
2. Materials and Methods
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- PostgreSQL database manager, known for its high scalability that makes it good for growing companies like startups given its robust, fast and reliable performance. It becomes ideal for large-scale use due to its versatility. From its version 9.4, PostgreSQL supports JSON and JSONB documents, in addition to other features, which allows the database to function as SQL or NoSQL type.
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- Python 3.10 (or later) programming language allows one to write code intuitively without worrying about low-level or machine programming. This allowed the team to focus on understanding the data needed and producing meaningful results. There are many programmers of this language, both in academia and in the market, so we have team elements with knowledge of this language.
2.1. Profiles of the Agents Involved
2.2. The Matching Algorithm
3. Results
3.1. ‘Envisioned’ Success Factors
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- Intuitive user experience: an easy-to-use, intuitive interface will be essential to attract and, most importantly, keep users.
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- Trust and security: building trust and ensuring the security of user data are essential; it protects confidential information and promotes a safe environment for transactions and negotiation.
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- Customer support and continuous feedback: providing excellent customer support and being open to user feedback are crucial, to gather information for constantly improving the offer.
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- Relevant functionalities and resources: to facilitate the connection between the interested parties, where updates and orientation to user expectations are very important.
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- Effective marketing: services need to be advertised assertively and effectively to the target audience; marketing strategies such as target advertising campaigns, social media presence and partnerships will be relevant for brand awareness
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- Strategic partnerships with other companies, incubators or investors will bring benefits to the credibility and visibility of the brand.
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- Price: must be compatible with the brand image, perceived quality and amounts charged by competitors; it is essential that the price is consistent with the benefit and quality offered.
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- Sustainability and social responsibility: actions aimed at environmental sustainability and social responsibility will be relevant; they influence the company’s growth, culture and image.
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- Process control and quality: internal management and the image perceived by customers will depend on process control and quality tools.
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- The reference channel of the national entrepreneurial ecosystem;
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- The main facilitator between businesses, talents, and investors.
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- Involves all national institutions that support startups and a considerable share of professional and private investors, including university projects and talents;
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- Has official support from relevant public entities (such as Startup Portugal or Portugal Ventures);
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- Is specialized in consulting and intermediation services to raise financing.
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- Integrity, which prioritizes ethics and transparency in all interactions and processes;
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- Trust and security, which are promoted among our users;
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- Customer orientation, seeking to generate value and drive the success of our users;
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- Sustainability and social responsibility, to align our strategies and create more value for the business environment and society;
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- Excellence, from the quality of the application to customer service, improving it constantly;
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- Collaboration, which allows one to promote the exchange of knowledge, experiences and opportunities to create an environment conducive to mutual growth and success.
- (i)
- Acquisition and retention of users through:
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- Digital marketing actions using a specialized agency and internal coordination by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO);
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- Participation in events and business fairs, nationally and internationally;
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- Strategic partnerships, which will provide access to a network of potential users, allowing for more effective market penetration and greater credibility.
- (ii)
- Platform scalability through:
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- Robust infrastructure: a continuous analysis and update of the platform’s infrastructure will be carried out, ensuring that it can handle a significant increase in the number of projects, investors, and talent. It will include the adoption of scalable technologies such as cloud computing and high-performance processing services on demand.
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- Performance optimization: intended to avoid the unnecessary costs of early optimization by constantly monitoring and improving the platform’s performance, ensuring that it is agile, responsive and capable of handling a growing volume of transactions and simultaneous interactions. This will be achieved through on-demand code optimization, load testing and regular system performance assessments.
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- Dedicated technical team: specifically, an internal Chief Technology Officer (CTO) from 2025, and from 2026 onward, depending on the increase in users and traffic or on the addition of new functionalities; also, the possibility of subcontracting services of software development is foreseen.
- (iii)
- Monetization of the platform through:
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- Monthly subscription with or without limit of unlocks (depending on type of user).
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- Extra options: additional unlocks; seal verified profile; profile boost; deactivation.
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- Advertising: open calls/Idea contests; B2B targeted Ads.
3.2. Project Validation
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
5.1. Practical Implications
5.2. Limitations and Future Work
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Portugal—SII (Summary Innovation Index) | =91.8 (Moderate) Rank:23 |
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Human resources | 97.6 |
Attractiveness of research systems | 115.7 |
Digital transformation | 129.0 |
Financing and support | 97.3 |
Private investments | 56.1 |
Use of technologies | 99.3 |
Internal Innovation | 101.7 |
Connections | 99.2 |
Intellectual assets | 76.7 |
Employment impacts | 88.2 |
Sales/exports impacts | 63.6 |
Environmental sustainability | 31.4 |
Agents/Data | Data to Create the Profile | Connection Parameters |
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Investors | Name; Logo/Photo; Location; Type of entity; VAT Website link/social media Short text of professional profile, experience, and aim | Location of project headquarters Phase of the project Type of activity/sector Maximum investment |
Entrepreneurs/projects | Name/title; Logo; VAT; time of activity, headquarters; Activity/sector Website link/social media Short text to present the business, vision, objectives, future needs | Investors: Location; capital amount; support/investment asked Talents: Location; competences; academic and professional background; possible capital inflow |
Talents | Name; photo; Location; birth date; VAT; labor situation Website link/social media Short text about academic, professional profile, interests and skills | Project headquarters Areas/activities/sectors of interest |
Strengths | Weaknesses |
- Team: made up of members with multidisciplinary skills and experience, and a solid knowledge of management and entrepreneurship - Platform: strong investment in an efficient intuitive interface that facilitates navigation and communication between interested parties - Marketing: this is a priority function (with a responsible internal coordinator) as a way of promoting the brand and building customer loyalty - Contact network: participation in events and business visits are planned as ways of networking and creating a network of partners | - Limited resources: the implementation requires an external investor to finance an initial part of the operation costs, implying a loss of certain decision-making control - Dependence on the adoption of the idea: since this is a less known business concept, there must be a clear transfer of the benefits this solution brings so that users choose to pay for the product - Brand: still unknown, lacking visibility and recognition, which makes it difficult to initially attract users and investors - Location: although the region (Algarve) offers good conditions, it is geographically far from other cities, forcing some higher costs |
Opportunities | Threats |
- Increase of entrepreneurship: driven by a culture of innovation and the search for professional autonomy, savings and direct incentives for activity - Investors looking for opportunities: there is a growing number of investors that want to invest in startups and innovative projects - Internationalization: the expansion to other European countries will offer opportunities for growth and access to a larger user base | - Competition: other platforms with similar offers that may turn it difficult for some users to be successful - Regulations: the firm must monitor regulatory changes and adapt to avoid negative impacts and restrictions on its activity - Economic instability: fluctuations in the economy can affect investor confidence and reduce the availability of capital to invest |
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Marujo, Â.; Afonso, B.; Martins, I.; Pires, L.; Fernandes, S. Tri-Collab: A Machine Learning Project to Leverage Innovation Ecosystems in Portugal. Big Data Cogn. Comput. 2025, 9, 139. https://doi.org/10.3390/bdcc9050139
Marujo Â, Afonso B, Martins I, Pires L, Fernandes S. Tri-Collab: A Machine Learning Project to Leverage Innovation Ecosystems in Portugal. Big Data and Cognitive Computing. 2025; 9(5):139. https://doi.org/10.3390/bdcc9050139
Chicago/Turabian StyleMarujo, Ângelo, Bruno Afonso, Inês Martins, Lisandro Pires, and Sílvia Fernandes. 2025. "Tri-Collab: A Machine Learning Project to Leverage Innovation Ecosystems in Portugal" Big Data and Cognitive Computing 9, no. 5: 139. https://doi.org/10.3390/bdcc9050139
APA StyleMarujo, Â., Afonso, B., Martins, I., Pires, L., & Fernandes, S. (2025). Tri-Collab: A Machine Learning Project to Leverage Innovation Ecosystems in Portugal. Big Data and Cognitive Computing, 9(5), 139. https://doi.org/10.3390/bdcc9050139