"Live in Portugal" in Warsaw was the first edition of a successful event for the real estate market Portuguese among others!

They were present from real estate entrepreneurs in Poland from various cities to clients with great purchasing power such as former professional football players, private banking clients, real estate developers among others willing to invest in the Portuguese market. All of them aimed to meet the Portuguese professionals present and participate in a successful networking evening that was attended by several partners of PPCC, such as the founder of the same, the president of Millenium BCP in Poland among many others, such as entrepreneurs who have already bought real estate in Portugal and others who have made Portugal their new main residence and country of business investment.

After the event, I had the pleasure of talking with two of the main protagonists of "Live in Portugal": the Secretary General of PPCC, Dr. Wojciech Baczynski and the Secretary General of APEMIP, Dr. Ana Avelar.

In this conversation, we addressed different topics, and I had the opportunity to ask them a few questions. Firstly, I thought it was important to understand if the objectives of this event had been achieved and secondly, what results were achieved by the participants: "PPCC operates in various sectors linking the Polish and Portuguese economies and companies to each other, such as tourism, winemaking, among others. As it is also the mission of PPCC to create opportunities in business missions to bring together entrepreneurs from other sectors of the two countries, as happened in this event. Thus, this event aimed to bring Polish entrepreneurs who are interested in investing in Portugal in the real estate sector giving the possibility to meet with Portuguese professionals in order to create opportunities and clarify questions that they have about Portuguese real estate and its evolution." Dr Wojciech Baczynski told us.

Answering the second question, Dr. Wojciech Baczynski made it known that "Portugal has to promote itself more in Poland since it has Spain and the south of France as its competitors. In this event we opened the door for Polish investors to talk to Portuguese professionals, not only to clarify their doubts in the real estate sector but also in the tax sector. In this way, we gave the possibility for everyone to know the Portuguese companies present so that they could know the difference of investment in Portugal compared to other markets better known in Poland and by Poles." At the end of the interview, we talked about the results achieved by the companies that participated in the event and whether this investment was well made. "With the participation of B2B and B2C customers and with the desire of PPCC and the other organizers to repeat this event in the future, with a greater focus on the B2C customer it is important to inform the Polish customer more broadly and accurately about the differences between Portugal and other markets so that these missions are increasingly successful for Portuguese companies and their business and commercial objectives." In the end, it was important for me to question Dr. Wojciech Baczynski about the professional quality of the Portuguese participants, whether they pleased the Polish public and what he highlights from this night of networking between the two countries.

"The Portuguese participants are always very well prepared, first of all, they speak English very well. Secondly, they have a very welcoming attitude that makes the difference. And thirdly, they have a realistic perspective that makes our work much easier. We will look to improve our offering in the future based on this."

After hearing the opinion of Dr. Wojciech Baczynski, I could not leave without speaking to Dr. Ana Avelar, Secretary General of APEMIP, as one of the organizers of this event in Warsaw. I asked her the same questions I had asked earlier to see if they had different precessions: "First of all as one of the organizers of this event I feel satisfied on behalf of APEMIP, for the first feedback we had from the Portuguese companies that were here and that reported to me their satisfaction, to have had the opportunity to be here, in this first edition of "Life in Portugal". Secondly, we realize that we are in a segment that genuinely interests the Polish public and its customers, who really want to invest and know better the potential of Portugal. Honestly, we were afraid that this event, as it was the first, here in Poland, would not have the quantitative and qualitative response that satisfies the business needs of our associates. But we were surprised, both by the quality of visitors and by the interest shown by them in following up on the contacts and conversations initiated here. Therefore, and thirdly, we think that we should continue this event, which after reflection, we will plan in the best way, together with PPCC, next year's event. We will analyze the feedback that the participating companies have given us so that for the year it will be even better."

I did not want to say goodbye without questioning Dr. Ana Avelar about the importance of this type of events for Portuguese companies: "For me, this format is better for everyone, there is a closer conversation than if it were a lecture, the participants are face to face and can direct the questions to the person they have in front of them, That wouldn't happen if it was, for example, a lecture. Both the companies and the visitors who passed through here came with a clear objective of informing themselves and with the will already elaborated to make investment in Portugal or to want to explore the Polish market in the future in their business strategy." Considering the answer of Dr. Ana Avelar, I thought I could go further, so I suggested the creation of an event with the participation of AICEP and APPII – Portuguese Association of Real Estate Developers and Investors, among others. As we also have a range in the construction of housing and real estate in Portugal, why not take advantage of these events to bring together international builders and developers to invest in construction in Portugal. "It makes perfect sense; it meets our perspectives in which we already have the partnership of AICEP. As for the second question I can only say that this idea is very welcome, thank you for the idea, Paulo."

Paulo Lopes is a multi-talent Portuguese citizen who made his Master of Economics in Switzerland and studied law at Lusófona in Lisbon - CEO of Casaiberia in Lisbon and Algarve.

Paulo Lopes