Chosen
HolyWally is one of just eight high-growth companies chosen for the 1st cohort of the scaling up program run by the Unicorn Factory Lisboa.
There was stiff competition for a place in the cohort and HolyWally joins Bairro, knokcare, Leadzai, ORNA, Pleez, Sensei and Zharta.
HolyWally and the other seven high-growth scaleups will now begin the journey to unlock their potential and accelerate their growth.
First Office in EU
And Lisbon is now the location for HolyWally's first office in the EU as it begins its plans to expand across the continent.
Last week saw Welcome Day at the Unicorn Factory’s Lisbon offices.
At the launch session, the scaleups presented their business models to more than 30 corporate partners and 28 investment funds.
The Mayor of Lisbon
The mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas (PSD), said that the 'Scaling Up' programme will support 20 scaleups per year
Gil Azevedo, executive director of Startup Lisboa and the Lisbon Unicorn Factory, said: “Our goal is to help these companies maximise their growth potential and thus have a strong economic impact for Lisbon and the country, attracting more innovation, investment and jobs.”
Welcome day
HolyWally co-founder and Partnerships Lead Veljko Vasic, who attended the welcome day in Lisbon, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen for this prestigious program and look forward to working with the team here and the other seven scale ups.
“Participation in the program means we now have our first office in the European Union, a significant move for a company which was founded in Singapore in 2021. We have already recruited a team for Lisbon and we will be building the numbers throughout the year.
“Being in the EU means we can properly talk to potential customers here who have expressed an interest in using our platform to build their own digital wallet in super-fast time.
“It also means having a cost-effective base in a beautiful City, on the same time zone as London and also a great time zone for our future US office. Lisbon has a great ecosystem for startups and scaleups, and we feel very welcome here. The regional and central Governments are determined to attract the very best businesses and it is an honour to be a part of that.
“This gives us a superb opportunity to scale in Europe, matching our ambitions plans for Asia.”
The program’s strategic partners include Google, Galp, Delta Cafés, Cuatrecasas, Fidelidade, BPI and PwC, as well as Câmara Municipal de Lisboa.
