I was born in Germany, the son of Portuguese parents, and it was in that country that I grew up and made most of my career. In 2004, when I decided to move with my family to Portugal, many of my German colleagues did not understand the decision. They asked me what I was going to do for a country that they considered so backwards, with fewer opportunities and an economy far removed from the German reality.
I have never forgotten those conversations. Not because they made me doubt the decision, but because they showed the image that many Europeans had of Portugal at that time.
More than twenty years later, seeing a Portuguese company like TEKEVER set up shop in Munich, precisely in one of the great industrial and technological centres of Germany, has for me a meaning that goes far beyond corporate news.
I started writing about TEKEVER in 2022, when the company was already demonstrating remarkable technological capacity, but it was still far from the international dimension we know today. Following its journey since then has been a confirmation of something I have always believed in: Portugal has talent, knowledge and entrepreneurs capable of competing with the best in the world.
The expansion to Germany is another step in that journey. TEKEVER is establishing a lasting presence in one of the most demanding markets in Europe, taking technology developed by a Portuguese company to a country that for decades was seen as a practically unattainable reference in engineering, industry and innovation. And it is precisely this reversal of perspective that I consider so important.
For many years we have become accustomed to thinking of internationalisation mainly as the arrival of large foreign companies in Portugal. Foreign investment, factories, service centres and job creation. All of this is still essential, but there is another dimension of the economy that we need to value: Portuguese companies that develop their own technology, win international customers and start investing and creating operations in other countries.
TEKEVER is today an example of this ambition. Its growth is the result of engineering, research, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and the ability to transform knowledge into solutions with international demand. It is not competing for cheaper. It is competing for the technology it develops and the value it can create.
Of course, a company does not transform an economy alone. But it can demonstrate what is possible and inspire others to follow the same path. Portugal needs more companies of this size, more investment in innovation and better conditions to transform knowledge into global business.
We also need to understand that the internationalisation of these companies should not mean the loss of their connection to Portugal. On the contrary, the greater the international presence, the greater the ability to create qualified employment, attract talent and develop new skills in our country.
Today, when I look back at TEKEVER's journey, I inevitably remember the questions I heard in 2004. Not because Portugal has solved all its problems or because we are already at the level of the most developed European economies. We still have a long way to go, especially in terms of productivity, the size of companies and the ability to transform knowledge into wealth. But something has changed profoundly. Portugal is no longer just a country that seeks to attract other people's companies. It is also a country capable of creating companies that others want to receive.
And for someone who was born in Germany, chose to live in Portugal and has always believed in the potential of Portuguese entrepreneurs, seeing TEKEVER arrive in Munich is a source of very particular pride. Not only for the success of a company, but for the Portugal it helps to show the world. Because the true sign of progress will be the day when stories like TEKEVER's are no longer seen as exceptional and become part of the normality of our economy.